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The rooftop at Planet Hollywood is normally home to satellite dishes and metal ventilation system coverings. But, through the countdown to 2019, the Strip property’s rooftop will also feature thousands of firework shells.
Arrangements of vibrant purple, cherry red, and wavy blue fireworks have been placed on the rooftops of Planet Hollywood and six other Las Vegas properties.
“Las Vegas is Party Central,” said Scott Cooper, business development director of Fireworks by Grucci. “If you’re hosting a New Year’s event and you want to do it big, Las Vegas is the place to do it.”
Fireworks by Grucci is coordinating the Strip show for the 12th consecutive year, planning to detonate 150 fireworks per second during an eight-minute show to welcome in 2019. More than 10,000 electrical circuits will fire about 80,000 total pyrotechnic devices from the rooftops of Planet Hollywood and six other resorts: the Aria, Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, the Stratosphere, Treasure Island and the Venetian.
More than 60 pyrotechnicians contracted by the company on Friday started setting up for the New Year’s Eve show. They’ll return to the roof for 10-hour shifts each day through the detonations of the fireworks and subsequent cleanup.
Greg Bottomley was among seven neon yellow vest-clad employees spreading mortars across the Planet Hollywood rooftop and hooking up electric wires to the firework shells he inserted inside.
Bottomley, 51, manages a Long Island, N.Y., title company for his day job, but makes the annual trip to Las Vegas to help the Grucci family, his childhood friends. He and several other New Yorkers — including doctors, lawyers and teachers — set up the show as an annual hobby and vacation to the Las Vegas Valley.
“We’re interested to see what it looks like this year,” Bottomley said. “One thing's for certain — it’s going to be a really good show.”
Accompanying the display, titled Vegas Nights, will be the Salsoul Orchestra’s version of the song “Auld Lang Syne,” followed by Frank Sinatra’s “Luck Be A Lady” and Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.”
The show will continue with cuts from “Night Time is the Right Time” by Aretha Franklin, “Waiting for Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez, “Take Back the Night” by Justin Timberlake, “Round Here” by Florida Georgia Line, “I Drove All Night” by Celine Dion and “Marry the Night” by Lady Gaga.
Partygoers can also tune into radio stations 92.3 FM or 97.1 FM to listen to the synchronized soundtrack in real time. Cooper said this year’s show will feature more sparkling “glitter and flitter” than ever.
“It’s about the glitz and the glamor,” Cooper said. “We’re here to have a good time and we want everyone to enjoy.”