Here’s the best place to see ‘America’s Party’ fireworks, drone show

The best place to watch Thursday morning’s eight-minute, $1 million “America’s Party” fireworks display and drone light show will be on the Strip between Resorts World Las Vegas and the Fashion Show mall, a representative of Fireworks by Grucci said Tuesday.

A crew of 75 pyrotechnicians have been on the rooftops of 10 Las Vegas resorts up to 10 hours a day for five days to prepare for the New Year’s Eve kickoff to 2026.

As technicians worked on top of TI, a crew on the roof of the nearby Venetian could be seen setting up charges there.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Tuesday revised its crowd estimate upward to 345,000 people for the celebration from 340,000. LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill speculated earlier this month that the number of arrivals for the event could set a record, but the organization’s researchers have determined that the total would be fewer than last year’s estimated 349,000 attendance.

For the past four New Year’s Eve holidays, attendance has been estimated at 309,000 in 2021 with 91.2 percent hotel occupancy, 336,000 in 2022 with 96.6 percent occupancy, 347,000 in 2023 with 94.6 percent occupancy and 349,000 last year with 96.9 percent occupancy.

LVCVA researchers are basing their estimates this year on softer visitation levels experienced through 2025.

Christopher Grucci, a pyrotechnic quality engineer for Fireworks by Grucci, on Tuesday gave new details about the show to reporters atop TI, one of the 10 launch sites for the show with the theme “Rockin’ into 2026 – Vegas Style.”

Fireworks will be launched from the rooftops of 10 different properties, including, for the first time, from the off-Strip Palms. Other resorts that will launch pyrotechnics include MGM Grand, Aria, Planet Hollywood Resort, Caesars Palace, The Venetian, Resorts World Las Vegas, Fontainebleau and The Strat, as well as TI, with the Rio serving as the command center for the event.

The Sphere will also be a part of this year’s show with broadcast look-ins of celebrations from across the globe being shown on the massive exosphere throughout the day. The final Las Vegas countdown to 2026 will be shown on the screen just before midnight.

Technicians set up circuits for roughly 1,000 shots per building that will be choreographed to rock music broadcast on KOMP 92.3 and 97.1 The Point.

The musical soundtrack accompaniment to the show will include “Auld Lang Syne” by Knights to Remember followed by “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by the Scorpions; “Rock of Ages” by Def Leppard; “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles; “Life’s Been Comin’ Too Fast” by Blake Shelton; “Feels Like the First Time” by Foreigner; “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie; “New Year’s Day” by U2; “Let’s Get Loud” by Jennifer Lopez; concluding with “Wherever I May Roam” by Metallica.

New drone show

New to the presentation this year will be a choreographed drone light show with a fleet of 600 drones that will carry LED lights with changing colors.

Grucci explained that the drones have been programmed to display iconic Las Vegas imagery — the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, tumbling dice and a revolving roulette wheel among them.

“Drones are a welcome addition to the fireworks,” Grucci said. “They’ll help to amplify and to give a more visceral visual addition to the fireworks. Fireworks will never be replaced because you can’t replace that feeling that you get when a titanium salute goes off in the sky, but the visuals that you get from the drones, you can’t get from a fireworks shot.”

Near the conclusion of the show, the drones will display patriotic imagery to commemorate the kickoff of the year of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“It’ll appear three-dimensional, and it’ll rotate so people can see it up and down and above the Strip,” said Scott Cooper, director of business development for Bellport, New York-based Fireworks by Grucci.

Grucci said planning for the 2026 show began shortly after last year’s show. The programming of the drone show and the interactions with fireworks and music have been set for months.

Watching the wind

Grucci said he isn’t worried about rain washing out the show. He said it would take a torrential downpour to wipe out plans for the event. But Grucci experts and the safety team working with them — the Clark County Fire Department, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue and the Las Vegas Metro Police Department — will be paying close attention to wind speeds Wednesday night.

Grucci explained that teams will monitor wind speeds hourly leading up to showtime. Each rooftop launch site has an anemometer to measure wind speed and pressure and in the hour leading up to the show, crews will fire one shell to see how the existing wind affects its flight.

He said there’s no specific wind-speed threshold that would cancel the show and decisions would be based on the test firings and prior experience.

A planned citywide block party in Boulder City already has been canceled for Wednesday night because of anticipated inclement weather.

This year marks 25th time Las Vegas has staged an “America’s Party” fireworks display on the Strip and it’s the 21st time Fireworks by Grucci has been the contractor for pyrotechnics. The Las Vegas event has never been canceled by weather in all those years.

“Every year we try to see how we can add to a unique experience,” Grucci said. “Along with the drones, a new property is always welcome. I think it allows more people to experience the show from different locations.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.