LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's almost time for the planes to fly and the fireworks to light up the night sky for this year's Thunder Over Louisville. 

Wednesday morning, the Kentucky Derby Festival announced the theme for this year's big show: Celebrating Derby 150.

Thunder is considered the kickoff to Kentucky Derby Festival events. It's touted as one of the top fireworks displays and air shows, entertaining more than 1.5 million people each year.

This year marks the 150th Kentucky Derby, so Thunder will pay tribute to the history of the iconic race throughout the day.

The Kentucky Derby is the very spectacle that got Thunder off the ground. Organizers also released the air show lineup Wednesday morning. It will include the B-52 Bomber, Swamp Fox — an aircraft with Kentucky roots — demos from the U.S. Navy's F-35 team and from the crew aboard the Osprey, a plane-helicopter hybrid. 

This year's lineup includes massive firepower and advanced technology.

Other air show acts include:

  • U.S. Air Force B-1
  • UPS flyby
  • U.S. Coast Guard Demonstration
  • Kentucky Air National Guard STS (Helocast)
  • U.S. Navy MH-53
  • U.S. Navy E-2 Hawkeye Demo
  • U.S. Navy EA-18 Growler Demo
  • U.S. Navy Legacy Flight
  • U.S. Air Force B-52
  • U.S. Air Force KC-135 demo
  • U.S. Air Force C-17 demo
  • U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper demo
  • U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight
  • U.S. Army Reserve UH-60 (63TAB)
  • Kentucky Air National Guard STS (HALO)
  • Kentucky Air National Guard C-130J
  • German Air Force A-400M
  • U.S. Air Force Parachute Team Wings of Blue
  • Ohio Air National Guard (Toledo) F-16
  • Wild Blue Air Team
  • Britt Lincoln Extra 300
  • U.S. Marine Corps HMLA-773
  • Canadian Air Force CF-18
  • Indiana Air National Guard (Grissom) KC-135

Before the fireworks kick off, drones will also dazzle the skies over the Ohio River.

Thunder on WDRB 2024 graphic

WDRB is your home for Thunder Over Louisville 2024. We'll have coverage all day on April 20, and we'll show all of the preparations leading up to the big day.

WDRB is your home for Thunder Over Louisville 2024. We'll have coverage all day on April 20, and we'll go behind the scenes of the preparations leading up to the big show.

The first batch of 2024 Pegasus Pins celebrating the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby arrived at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience in downtown Louisville last Friday morning. It's the only place you can buy the pins until March, when they will be available at retailers across the area.

The pins are $7 each and are good for admission to most Derby Festival events. A metal pin is available for $10, as well as a limited edition gold-plated pin for $75. CLICK HERE for more information. 

Started in 1973, the Pegasus Pin sponsorships are now one of four primary sources of funding for the Derby Festival, and has become a way for the community to support Festival events.

This story will be updated.

IMAGES | Fireworks light up the sky at Thunder Over Louisville 2023

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