Marking the top of a longtime custom, the Fourth of July celebration on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena won’t function a fireworks present this yr. As a substitute, there shall be a drone present.
The transfer comes as some venues have switched from fireworks to drone exhibits — by which a fleet of drones performs a choreographed mild present — to rejoice the 4th of July.
However drone exhibits have fallen flat for some. Notably Redondo Seashore and Laguna Seashore switched again to fireworks after making an attempt out drone exhibits, and a few promoters of fireworks exhibits have voiced criticism over efforts to transition to drone exhibits.
For Pasadena, it’s an enormous change — the Rose Bowl Independence Day fireworks present was touted as one of many largest within the area, and was viewable not solely within the stadium but in addition the encircling space. A soccer match preceded the fireworks present on the final two July 4th holidays.
Earlier than that, the Rose Bowl fireworks had been the spotlight of the decades-old AmericaFest celebration, however AmericaFest ended following substantial monetary losses, in line with information studies.
Apart from the primary yr of the COVID-19 pandemic, “that is the primary time in lots of, a few years — I’ve been right here 23 years — and that is first yr the place we could have no fireworks on the Rose Bowl,” Pasadena metropolis spokesperson Lisa Derderian stated at a information briefing Wednesday. “There shall be a drone present. In case you attend the occasion, you received’t be capable of see it from exterior the Rose Bowl space.”
In an extra change, there received’t be a soccer match this yr on the Rose Bowl on Independence Day. A Galaxy-LAFC match was held in 2023 and 2024. As a substitute, the venue will host the food-and-entertainment pageant FoodieLand.
Derderian urged individuals to not head to the world surrounding the Rose Bowl, until they’ve a ticket for FoodieLand.
The change comes amid considerations about fireworks inflicting unhealthful air. The South Coast Air High quality Administration District has beforehand stated air pollution ranges of high-quality particles soar on July 4 and 5 — the worst of the yr.
Fireworks exhibits stay a staple in different elements of California, together with in San Diego and San Francisco.
However in Lengthy Seashore, this yr stands out as the final Massive Bang on the Bay fireworks present. The California Coastal Fee accepted a allow for the occasion on Might 9 with a significant proviso. From 2026 to 2029, the 20-minute pyrotechnic show, which launches from a barge in Alamitos Bay, shall be dropped in favor of a drone present.
“This yr may very well be the ultimate yr of fireworks over the bay,” stated the occasion’s web site, which says the occasion raises cash for nonprofits that profit Lengthy Seashore’s youth.
Massive Bang on the Bay has been held yearly since 2011, after the town of Lengthy Seashore ended fireworks shows at Veterans Stadium in north Lengthy Seashore, in line with a Coastal Fee employees report.
In its presentation, fee employees stated birds had been disturbed throughout previous fireworks shows and that “a current research concluded that fireworks may end up in nest abandonment, brought on fledging birds to fall out of nests, and trigger birds to expertise disrupted sleep and elevated misery, vigilance and concern.” Workers additionally expressed considerations about fireworks particles touchdown within the surroundings and concluded that “a drone present would lead to fewer antagonistic environmental impacts.”
John Morris, the organizer of the occasion and a restaurant proprietor, instructed commissioners on the Might 9 assembly he was skeptical that the neighborhood can be as keen to donate vital cash for future drone exhibits.
“I simply have the mindset, I’m a fireworks man. And I raised the cash from all the homes across the bay,” Morris stated on the assembly. “I bought 300 homes across the bay to put in writing checks. … Will half of them write a examine for drones? I don’t know. If that is what it means, I’ll strive it.”
However he famous that each Redondo Seashore and Laguna Seashore returned to fireworks after making an attempt out drone exhibits. “I like watching a drone present,” he stated. “I’ve seen a few them. They’re nice, however they’re not July 4th.”
Justin Cummings, the chair of the Coastal Fee throughout the Might assembly, stated that drone exhibits’ emergence point out they’re a possible different to fireworks.
“We’re seeing drone exhibits pop up everywhere in the nation, they usually’re actually demonstrating to be a profitable different to fireworks,” Cummings, additionally a Santa Cruz County supervisor, stated on the assembly. Cummings’ tenure on the fee ended after the Might assembly.
Commissioners requested to be told of any drop in monetary assist for the 2026 drone present as in comparison with earlier fireworks exhibits.
San Diego’s Massive Bay Increase has acquired permission from the Coastal Fee to proceed with fireworks exhibits this yr and subsequent. However commissioners in February required the organizers of the present to do a research of transitioning to drone exhibits or different alternate options to fireworks for 2027.
Coastal Fee employees stated throughout final yr’s San Diego fireworks, California least terns and their fledglings turned agitated and left their nest to run or fly; employees additionally stated fireworks particles can impair water high quality and that wildlife could entangle themselves within the particles, or ingest it.
Instances employees author Karen Garcia contributed to this report.
