Final Preps Underway So 2010 Goes Out With A Bang
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Fireworks will light up the night sky in downtown Baltimore as thousands come together to ring in the new year.
Weijia Jiang has more on the final preparations for the big event.
In Baltimore's Inner Harbor, a show that never disappoints is about to outdo itself yet again.
The New Year's Eve Celebration drew some 50,000 visitors to the Inner Harbor last year. It generated $6.9 million worth of business and $93,000 in state taxes.
Even more people and money are expected to ring in 2011.
The show takes four months of planning and four days of prep work to execute. Last-minute touches include setting the entertainment stage for the local band, The Motorettes, which will perform Motown and oldies songs starting at 9 p.m.
Gates are meant to help control the monster crowd. Last year, 80 percent of visitors came from out-of-town; 28 percent were from out-of-state.
Of course the biggest draw of the night is the fireworks display, which promises to deliver with several new tricks.
"We are doing the fireworks at 12 a.m. from two barges anchored in the harbor," said Dionne McConkey, Promotion and the Arts.
"We count our displays and how many 'oohs' and 'ahhs' we'll get through the night and we're guaranteeing a lot tomorrow night at midnight," said Rocco Vitale, Pyrotecnico.
The "oohs" and "ahhs" should last through the 18-minute show, which is choreographed to music.
With only a few hours left, designers are making final tweaks to guarantee a dynamite time.
City officials are urging people to take public transportation. MTA is offering free rides from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
You can watch the fireworks from home on WJZ. The Ports America Chesapeake New Year's Eve Spectacular begins at 11 p.m. on WJZ.
