THUNDER GOES GLOBAL FOR FOURTH OF JULY

2004-06-30T11:00:21

Hometown fireworks go global
for the Fourth of July


A ritual of spring in Kentucky will be used to celebrate the nation’s Independence Day. The Kentucky Derby Festival’s annual fireworks show, Thunder Over Louisville, will be featured locally and around the world.  Local NBC-affiliate, WAVE TV will replay their official broadcast of the fireworks and airshow highlights on Monday July 5th from 11 AM - 1 PM.  This footage will also air statewide on July 4th at 10:30 p.m. EDT on KET and KET-2.

U.S. military personnel and their families stationed all over the world will be able to celebrate the country’s birthday on July 4 by viewing a special two-hour broadcast of the 2004 Thunder Over Louisville show. Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), which reaches an audience of more than 800,000, will air the program, which features the entire 30-minute Thunder Over Louisville fireworks show, as well as portions of the airshow and other Thunder Day activities.   It is an edited version of the official broadcast of Thunder as produced by WAVE TV.

AFRTS is part of the Department of Defense, and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.  AFRTS provides stateside radio and television programming, "a touch of home," to U.S. service men and women, DOD civilians, and their families serving outside the continental United States. AFRTS provides multiple television and stereo audio services to over 1,000 outlets in more than 175 countries and U.S. territories, and on board U.S. Navy ships.

Said Steve Langford, General Manager of WAVE 3, "WAVE 3 is honored to provide the "American Forces Network" its coverage of ‘Thunder Over Louisville’ to our soldiers and their families throughout the world. "Without these brave soldiers and all soldiers before them this holiday would not exist."  Langford thought it fitting to share the American Forces version of Thunder with the local community “because of the many requests from viewers wanting WAVE 3 to repeat its telecast of Thunder.”

The Derby Festival also recently authorized a documentary film company from New York to use footage for a film on fireworks to air on the Discovery Channel in the future.  The Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia) is running a cover story in their July 4th issue featuring the best fireworks in the country, including a photo of Thunder Over Louisville.

Thunder Over Louisville – the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies – is the nation’s largest annual fireworks display. The Thunder Air Show, which precedes the pyrotechnics, is among the top five air shows in the country. Thunder Over Louisville 2004 was sponsored by Caesars Indiana, Ford Motor Company, and UPS.