Thunder Over Louisville Facts

Thunder Over Louisville was born 31 years ago at the old Cardinal Stadium at the Fairgrounds.  

• The Thunder Air Show started as a filler to build up the crowd before a nighttime fireworks display, and it ranked as one of the top five air shows in the nation.

 • More than 500,000 people attend each year.

• The day-long event kicks off the two weeks of Kentucky Derby Festival events leading up to the Derby.

• The Thunder Air Show features more than 100 planes, aerobatics teams, sky diving teams and stunts.

• The fireworks feature the latest in pyrotechnic power from Zambelli Internationale, America's "first family of fireworks."

• Six 400-foot barges assemble on both sides of the 2nd Street Bridge to form the stage from which the fireworks ignite.

• The 28-minute show includes Thunder's signature one-mile "waterfall" effect off the bridge, making the fireworks seem to rain down forever.

• After more than three decades, the show remains the largest annual pyrotechnic display in North America.

• It is seen by millions worldwide in a July 4th rebroadcast on the Armed Forces Network to more than 150 countries.

Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.