Stadium of Fire attendees this Friday can still expect to see the country’s “largest stadium fireworks and drone spectacle,” even after an accident last year that sent errant rockets into the crowd.
This time, however, the show will exclude the self-propelled whistler firecrackers responsible for the mishap that injured at least 27, said Emory Cook, spokesperson for the Freedom Festival, which hosts the fireworks display at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo.
The festival has also hired a different business, New York-based Grucci, to provide the fireworks, Cook said. And they must now provide Provo officials with a complete list of fireworks to be used in the display, said Lynn Schofield, Provo’s fire marshal.
Cook said about 500,000 people will attend the holiday festival’s slate of events.
“That’s a lot of people to keep safe,” he said, “and we definitely take that job very seriously.”
The mishap last year, fire investigators learned, was triggered when a 36-shot “Howling Tails to Hammer” cake — a box containing multiple tubes of fireworks — malfunctioned and exploded about six or seven shots into the series. The force of that explosion moved the surrounding stabilizing sandbags and shifted the tubes, sending the self-propelled whistler rockets into the crowd.
In retrospect, Schofield said, even if the fireworks had not malfunctioned, these particular types of fireworks should never be placed so close to spectators.
The 91-page final findings document says that particular firework should stay 800 feet away from people, much further than the 175 feet they were placed last year (and the two decades prior, the report notes).
Other things to know
• Cook said attendees planning to arrive by car should arrive earlier than the event’s 8 p.m. start time, as parking will be a challenge. Starting at 4:30 p.m., Utah Transit Authority’s UVX buses are available to take passengers from Orem and Provo to the stadium and back.
• Attendees must follow all stadium rules, including abiding by its no-bag policy. Small clutches are allowed, as are diaper bags and other medically necessary items.
• In addition to the fireworks and drone display, the Stadium of Fire shows will also include an F-35 jet flyover and performance by country trio Rascal Flatts. Tickets are available at freedomfestival.org.
(America's Freedom Festival) The country trio Rascal Flatts has been booked to be the musical headliner at Stadium of Fire, the annual patriotic extravaganza at Provo's LaVell Edwards Stadium, set for Friday, July 4, 2025.