Thunder Over Louisville

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Thunder Over Louisville
Date(s)	April
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Louisville, Kentucky
Founded	1989; 35 years ago (1989)
Website	thunderoverlouisville.org

Thunder Over Louisville is an annual airshow and fireworks display in Louisville, Kentucky, serving as the kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. It is held on a Saturday in April preceding the Kentucky Derby, the first Saturday in May, usually by two weeks.^[a] For some time the largest annual fireworks display in North America, the event remains one of the largest.^[1][2]

Thunder began as part of an opening ceremonies event in 1989 with daytime fireworks. 1990 brought the first nighttime fireworks event. It officially began in its current location along the Ohio River in 1991 with fireworks, and an air show was added in 1992.

Thunder generally starts in the afternoon with an air show, followed by the fireworks show starting at 9:30 pm, along with a synchronized soundtrack through PA and radio. An average of 625,000 people have attended each year since 1997, lining the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville, and across the river in Jeffersonville and Clarksville, Indiana. Some also watch from the river on boats, docked in positions auctioned off for charity.^[3] Eight 400-foot barges launch the fireworks, provided by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, from both sides of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, and more fireworks are launched from the bridge itself.

In the 21st century the estimated attendance at Thunder has usually been approximately five times that of the main attraction, the Kentucky Derby.

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