The July 4th celebration at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, marking the end of a long-standing tradition, will not feature this year’s fireworks show. Instead, there is a drone show.
When several venues were switched from fireworks to drone shows, the move switched to a drone show where a fleet of drones performed a choreographed light show to celebrate July 4th.
But the drone show has become flat for some. Redondo Beach and Laguna Beach in particular returned to fireworks after trying out the drone show. Some promoters of the fireworks show have expressed criticism of their efforts to move to the drone show.
For Pasadena, that’s a huge change. Rose Bowl’s Independence Day Fireworks Show is touted as one of the largest in the region and has been seen not only in the stadium but also in the surrounding area. The soccer match preceded the fireworks show on the past two holidays on July 4th.
Before that, the Rose Bowl fireworks were the highlight of the American Fest celebration decades ago, but news reports say the American Fest ended after considerable economic losses.
“This is the first time in years, except for the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We have a drone show. Once you’ve been to the event, you won’t be able to see it from outside the Rose Bowl area,” Pasadena city spokesman Lisa Dadelang said in a news briefing on Wednesday.
In a further change, there will be no soccer games this year at the Rose Bowl on Independence Day. Galaxy-LAFC matches were held in 2023 and 2024. Instead, the venue will host Foodieland, the Foodieland, the Foodieland foodieland.
The Darderian urged people not to head towards the area surrounding the Rose Bowl unless they had a meal ticket.
This change comes amid concerns that fireworks can cause unhealthy air. The South Coast Air Quality Control District has previously said that particulate contamination levels have skyrocketed on July 4th and 5th.
Fireworks shows are staples in other parts of California, including San Diego and San Francisco.
But in Long Beach, this year may be the last big bang of the Bay Fireworks show. The California Coastal Commission approved the event on May 9th on key terms. From 2026 to 2029, the 20-minute fireworks display, which will be released from the Barge in Aramitos Bay, will be dropped in favour of the drone show.
“This could be the final year of fireworks across the bay,” the event’s website said.
The Big Bang has been held annually since 2011 after Long Beach’s city of Long Beach concluded a fireworks display at the Veterans Stadium in North Long Beach, according to a staff report from the Coastal Commission.
Committee staff also expressed concern about the fireworks being hindered during past firework displays, and “recent research concluded that fireworks could lead to nest abandonment, leading the bird to fall from the nest, causing the bird to disrupt sleep and experience an increase in distress, vigilance and fear.” The staff also expressed concern about the fireworks debris landing in the environment, and concluded that “drone shows will have less negative impact on the environment.”
John Morris, the event organizer and restaurant owner, told the commissioner at a May 9 meeting that the community is skeptical that they are willing to donate large sums of money to future drone shows.
“I just have a mindset, I’m a fireworks guy, and I’ve collected money from every house around the bay,” Morris said at the meeting. “There were 300 houses around the bay to write checks. …Half of them write checks for drones? I don’t know.
However, he said that both Redondo Beach and Laguna Beach returned to fireworks after trying out the drone show. “I love watching drone shows,” he said. “I saw some of them. They’re great, but not July 4th.”
Justin Cummings, chairman of the Coastal Committee during its May meeting, said the drones “indicating the appearance is a viable alternative to fireworks.”
“We’re seeing drone shows pop up all over the country, and they’re actually demonstrating that they’re a successful alternative to fireworks,” Cummings, Santa Cruz County superintendent, told the conference. Cummings’ tenure on the committee ended after a meeting in May.
Commissioners were asked to be informed of a decline in financial support for the 2026 Drone Show compared to previous fireworks shows.
San Diego’s Big Bay Boom has been granted permission from the Coastal Commission to continue its fireworks show this year and next year. However, the February commissioner asked the show’s organizers to do research into the transition to a 2027 drone show or other fireworks alternatives.
Coastal Commission staff said last year’s fireworks in San Diego, California, caused the smallest terns and their escape to be upset and run or fly away from the nest. Staff also said that firework debris could damage water quality and that wildlife could either entangle themselves in the debris or ingest them.
Times staff writer Karen Garcia contributed to this report.
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