400 drones, 30k pounds of explosives: Drone, firework operators explain Fourth of July plan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tens of thousands of explosives and hundreds of drones are set to light up the Nashville skyline this Fourth of July.

Last year, the Fourth of July in Nashville brought an estimated 250,000 people to the event, generating $11.6 million in direct visitor spending.

This year, the fireworks and drone planners said the goal is to create an innovative and revolutionary display.

This will be the first time drones will be used in the Fourth of July event.

“When we got the call to bring drones to Nashville, our first thoughts were, ‘What an amazing firework show. It’s huge!'” said Rick Boss, president of Sky Elements Drone Shows. “So we really need to bring the best gang here and bring an amazing show to incorporate into the fireworks.”

Firework and drone planners said everything will be coordinated and cued to the live music from the Nashville Symphony.

“The biggest challenge is just coordinating,” Ross explained. “When are we in the sky? When are the fireworks in the sky, and when can we create a good balance for the audience to really enjoy the show? Making both the fireworks impactful and the drones impactful for the story and that just takes a lot of time and planning with both our pyro technician operations and our animators in our shop.”

The Executive Vice President of Pyro Shows, Mike Walden, told News 2 this year they will paint the sky and river red, white, and blue.

He said they would launch 1,000 floating flares into the river, and the fireworks would reach up to 1,000 feet high, but to have an iconic show, every explosive has an exact placement.

“Every single one of the tens of thousands of effects we are going to do has a specific place,” Walden said. “You put those into place, and then you begin to wire them, connect them to the denotators. Plug them into their electrical boxes, and then you will go all the way back to the control bunker that we have set up.”

One pilot will manage the 400 drones with specific precision.

“On this show, probably 150 hours have been spent designing the show,” Boss explained. “Making sure they are going to take off at this location, be at this position to get everything right. Our team has come out to Nashville multiple times to look at the site and make sure it is positioned correctly; 150 or so hours of animation from our animators. Then the easy part is just coming here, laying it all out, and flying the show.”

Boss also said the American flag is the one drone image you can expect to see.

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For the second year, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. will donate funds to a local charity.

Every t-shirt sold during the event will donate $1 to Pencil , a foundation focused on providing school supplies for Metro Nashville students.

The fireworks and drone show will start at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. Lower Broadway, Ascend Amphitheater, and Riverfront Park are some of the best viewing locations .

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