Las Vegas News Bureau
America’s Party, the New Year’s Eve fireworks spectacular, is seen above the Las Vegas Strip from the vantage point of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022 | 2 a.m.
T he Las Vegas Strip has become a New Year’s Eve destination comparable to Times Square in New York City.
The appeal of a massive block party — the Strip is shut down and pedestrian revelers with drinks in hand replace the normal traffic of honking cars — motivates hundreds of thousands of people to flock to the resort corridor each New Year’s Eve, said Tim Keener, the vice president of event and ticket operations for Las Vegas Events.
Once the sun sets tonight, the annual festivities will begin in the resort corridor for the 300,000 or so revelers expected to ring in the new year. They will come from all corners of the globe.
“It’s a bucket list event for folks all over, and we’re proud of that,” Keener said. “We’re proud of what Las Vegas has to offer here. And, if we do a little party by capping off the evening with a firework show that is a ‘wow’ factor for our guests — then we’ve done our job.”
The Strip’s now-famous fireworks show was cemented in New Year’s Eve 2000, when Las Vegas Events — with funding from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority — took over the planning, Keener said. Over the more than two decades since, the celebration continues to evolve as fireworks are launched from varying rooftops so they can be seen from virtually anywhere on the Strip.
To safely display the fireworks from up to a dozen rooftops on the Strip — and put on a good show — the Clark County Fire Department, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, Metro Police and hotel property partners must be involved in the process, Keener said.
“We’ve had a lot of involvement citywide from a variety of partners,” he said, citing specifically the Strip resort properties that have launched fireworks from their rooftops or acted as command center for the pyrotechnic display. “They all feel like they’re part of the event.”
The fireworks display was designed by a few different pyrotechnic companies before a more permanent partnership was formed between Las Vegas and Fireworks by Grucci, which has now been responsible for the “America’s Party” show for 18 years.
Corey Grucci, production manager for Fireworks by Grucci, said at an event earlier this month that the pyrotechnics company put its “heart and soul” into the America’s Party show each year — with the intent of being even bigger and better when the time comes again.
The theme of tonight’s fireworks show, “Let’s Go Big,” reflects that, with a synchronized eight-minute pyrotechnic performance from the rooftops of the MGM Grand, the Aria, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, Venetian, Resorts World and the Strat.
“It’s very creative; it’s very hands-on,” Grucci said. “We get to work closely with the authorities having jurisdiction. So, it’s been quite the ride. And it’s very challenging. But I’ll tell you, you get to see the fruits of your labor. It’s amazing.”
Keener said Las Vegas Events and its partners had their fingers crossed that the weather would cooperate and allow the fireworks show to play out as planned. The National Weather Service has forecasted a 100% chance of rain and wind gusts up to 25 miles per hourtonight.
Precipitation will not affect whether the fireworks show will go on, Keener said. The biggest concern is wind.
“We’ve got a fallout zone that is really safe, but you can’t take chances … that’s why wind is paramount to us,” he said.
He described the call on setting off the fireworks as a game-time decision.
Planning for the New Year’s Eve extravaganza also includes working with Metro Police to close off the Strip.
Interstate 15 off-ramps that feed onto the Strip will be closed at 5 p.m., according to Metro. Road closures on Las Vegas Boulevard, from Spring Mountain Road to Tropicana Avenue, will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Strip will be closed to all vehicular traffic by 8 p.m., and will not reopen until the early hours of Sunday — only after the streets are cleared and cleaned.
Many visitors will simply return to the resorts which they are staying, as many properties only allow patrons with room keys to enter during the celebration. And the rooms are pricey.
A room at the Luxor for tonight is $439, while it’s $1,199 at the Wynn, according to hotels.com. Still, hundreds of thousands of visitors will flock to town to be part of the celebration.
Keener believes the patrons on the Strip see one of the best shows they have ever seen each year on New Year’s Eve. And, he doesn’t see the show going away any time soon.
“I think it’s proven its worth, and the entertainment value that it brings to the guests in town,” he said. “And that’s what Las Vegas is all about, is providing memorable moments for these hotel guests. And I think on New Year’s Eve, they come to expect a firework show, and I’d be surprised if anything changes in the near future.”
