Pyrotechnicians All Prepped For New Year's Eve Shows On Delaware Riverfront
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A New Year's Eve tradition here in Philadelphia continues tonight, with not one but two fireworks shows over the Delaware River.
After hundreds of man-hours in the design, and then three days of setting everything up here, show producer Ken Furstoss and his crew have done the final checks.
"There's over five miles of wire out there, and about 8,000 hits between both shows," he tells KYW Newsradio.
Those 8,000 "hits" will trigger four tons of explosives, each timed perfectly, to go off within 1/100th of a second of when it is supposed to.
And he says the crowd reaction makes it all worth it for his team.
"It's awesome -- to hear the crowd! I mean their first role, they are technicians. But their second role, they are entertainers."
There are two shows tonight: the first at 6pm, set to classical music. The second, at the stroke of midnight, rings in the new year with pop music, including "Fun," The Wanted, and Carly Rae Jepsen.
