The Rose Bowl celebrates 95 years of AmericaFest
The Rose Bowl is celebrating the Fourth of July with more fireworks than ever before.
PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- It's being dubbed the largest fireworks show on the West Coast.
The Rose Bowl is celebrating 95 years of the spectacle in the sky known as AmericaFest.
"Last year we moved to a virtual format so we are thrilled to be once again inviting not only our Pasadena residents but the local Southern California area back," said Rose Bowl communications director Meredith Thomas.
Paul Souza and his team of 30 from Pyro Spectaculars by Souza have been prepping for days.
"We spent yesterday actually unloading about 30,000 pounds of equipment and today we've been dropping and installing about two and a half tons of fireworks," said Souza.
Souza and his team are filled with excitement. But it comes after a tough year.
"We love being around our crew and the comradery and making sure that everyone has a great experience, but because of COVID, everything shut down," said Souza's assistant Ashley Jackson.
With only six-weeks notice that they had the opportunity to run the show, Souza said this year's display will be bigger and better than ever.
"I kind of went crazy with the fireworks design even though I had limited time with the six weeks, and I just made the show longer with more fireworks, so it's gonna be the biggest AmericaFest we've ever had," said Souza.
The fireworks show will run for 25 minutes.
About 40,000 people are expected to watch the show from inside the stadium, but outside in the parking lot, Rose Bowl officials are expecting to see about 200,000 people watching from their cars.
The parking lot will open at 5 p.m. on Sunday and the show starts at 9 p.m. General admission starts at $25 and you can buy tickets online.
