Philadelphia's Biggest New Year's Eve Attraction Adding New Features To Firework Shows
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We all know Philadelphia knows how to throw a party. Thousands of people will flock to the city to ring in the New Year on Tuesday night.
The countdown to 2020 is on.
The first fireworks show at Penn's Landing went off at 6 p.m. and the second show begins at midnight.
Philadelphia's biggest attraction on New Year's Eve offered a stunning show on the waterfront last year.
Just hours away from #Philly's first of two #NYEFireworks Show! pic.twitter.com/A64mEX5DTN
— Matt Petrillo (@MattPetrillo) December 31, 2019
The best places to watch the fireworks are at the Blue Cross RiverRink, Penn's Landing and the Battleship New Jersey.
And this year each fireworks show will be set to a different theme of music.
"One of the shows is themed around video games," said Almaz Crowe, of the Delaware Waterfront Corporation. "So that will be fun to hear some songs from your youth. And the second water because we're on the river. Tonight at our parties will have skating, face painting, hot cocoa, spiked hot cocoa, great stuff happening."
The show lasts about 13 minutes but planning it out takes months.
"There's hundreds of manhours that go into putting something like this on," pyrotechnician Andrew Clemenick said.
Pyrotechnicians spend months planning and organizing Philly's two firework shows.
"We have about 10,000 pounds of explosives out here for both the 6 p.m. show and the 12 a.m. show," Clemenick said.
The fireworks are each placed into plastic tubes and tin foil covers the tubes to prevent any moisture from getting in.
Lots and lots of wires laced up and down the barge connect every firework to a computer that knows exactly when to set them off.