‘Let’s Go Big!’: 8 Strip resorts to launch NYE fireworks from rooftops

Beginning at midnight on New Year’s Day, thousands of shimmering lights, comet-like displays and festive music will make up the eight-minute fireworks show on the Strip as part of an event that will attempt to go bigger and brighter than previous years.

Las Vegas Events, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and pyrotechnic firm Fireworks by Grucci unveiled plans for “America’s Party 2023,” during a Thursday news conference at Fashion Show mall on the Strip.

This year’s theme is “Let’s Go Big!,” and eight resorts will have fireworks launched from their rooftops: MGM Grand, Aria, Planet Hollywood Resort, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, The Venetian, Resorts World Las Vegas and The Strat.

It will take five days for 66 pyrotechnicians to install the fireworks, estimated to be more than 11,000 electrical devices, some of which have multiple pyrotechnics attached, according to Fireworks by Grucci officials.

“We are our biggest competitors, honestly,” Production Manager Corey Grucci said. “When we left that big show last year for 2022, we went back and were like, how do we make it better?”

New this year is a personalized countdown from DJ Tiësto on Resorts World’s 100,000-square-foot LED screen. The other seven properties will display a synchronized countdown to complement Resorts World’s video.

The soundtrack for this year’s show includes traditional songs such as “Auld Lang Syne” and “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus and on-theme songs such as “23” by Sam Hunt and “Larger Than Life” by Backstreet Boys. The music can be heard on local Las Vegas radio stations KOMP 92.3 and 97.1 The Point.

Downtown Las Vegas can expect its own rapturous night. The Fremont Street Experience will host its “NYE Time of Your Life Festival” with live performances on three stages from Bush, Sugar Ray, Sugarhill Gang and others. Pre-sale tickets are available for $50. Gates open at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31.

Fremont partygoers will also be able to see the Plaza’s fireworks show at midnight. It includes a new element, 150 drones counting down to the fireworks show and complementing the pyrotechnics, according to a news release.

“This reminds me of the best of the best,” said Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who will ring in 2023 at Fremont Street’s Third Street stage with rock band Bush. “There’s nobody like Grucci. They have always put on a top-notch show, and now we have some extra buildings. It’s going to be fabulous.”

Last year’s show on the Strip was an eight-minute display with the theme of “Deuces Wild.” It returned to the Strip after a year hiatus because of the pandemic, and added an eighth rooftop — Resorts World, which opened in 2021.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.