Everybody knows the thunderous finale at the end of most fireworks shows is the best part. But it turns out the slow buildup is important, too — a lesson the city of San Diego, California, learned the hard way after its entire “Big Bay Boom” show went, well, BOOM all at once thanks to a mysterious “technical glitch.”
Billed as one of the largest fireworks displays in the country the Big Bay Boom began at about 9:20pm PT — and was over just 15 seconds later. The colossal screw-up immediately caused an explosion of complaints on Twitter. And onlookers are still riling about the epic fail this morning, with many saying they waited three hours for a show that took just seconds.
“We sincerely apologize for the technical glitch that affected the #BigBayBoom,” said the Port of San Diego in a tweet. “Event producers are currently investigating the cause.”
According to a statement released last night by the Port of San Diego, preliminary tests by Garden State Fireworks, the company tasked with pulling off the pyrotechnic spectacle, showed nothing wrong before the big show, and technicians are looking into the exact cause of the accidental display.
“Approximately 5 minutes before the show was to start, a signal was sent to the barges that would set the timing for the rest of the show after the introduction,” wrote the Port of San Diego on its Big Bay Boom website. “There were a number of preliminary test signals sent hours and minutes leading up to the show. All these signals tested properly according to Garden State Fireworks, the fireworks company that provides the show. The Garden State Fireworks team will be working throughout the night to determine what technical problem caused the entire show to be launched in about 15 seconds.”
Despite the massive failure on the part of Garden State Fireworks, there’s always a silver lining to such things. As Twitter user @richandcreamy said: “Best part about #bigbayboom fail is that EVERYONE has always wondered what would happen if all fireworks went off at once.”
That we have. To see for yourself, watch video of the Big Bay Boom fail below:
And in the spirit of fairness, we should point out that Garden State Fireworks isn’t the first to mess up while playing with explosives, as this fail compilation video makes obviously clear:
[Image via @dtonelli]
