Orlando to bring back Fireworks at the Fountain this year

ORLANDO, Fla. – After a year without Fireworks at the Fountain, the city of Orlando is bringing back the boom with the annual July 4th show at Lake Eola.

The city canceled the fireworks show in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and in lieu of the live event News 6 offered a replay of the event’s greatest hits but this year the show will go on.

News 6 partners with the city to broadcast the spectacular fireworks show downtown and will again this year.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the in-person event will still have precautions due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. Following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, fully vaccinated people can forgo their masks outdoors if they are comfortable.

“We will do social distancing best we can around the lake, we’ll have vendors space that along the path, and encourage people that are fully vaccinated that is fine to come without a mask, and if you’re not fully vaccinated we encourage you to wear masks,” Dyer said.

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The mayor said city officials have waited for more people to be vaccinated and new safety guidelines before deciding to host the event again.

“We waited until as long as we could until we’re at the point where we had to let the vendors know we’re a go or not to go in terms of the fireworks and everything involved in putting that together,” Dyer said.

When it came down to it, Dyer said being able to host a large event like this once again is a reflection of our community.

“We’re doing a really good job of protecting ourselves and protecting our families and protecting her neighbors and doing the right thing with regard to health and science,” Dyer said.

Fireworks at the Fountain will again welcome food and drink vendors and is a family-friendly affair.

This will be the seventh year News 6 will broadcast Fireworks at the Foundation on News 6 and ClickOrlando.com. WKMG-TV News 6 General Manager Jeff Hoffman said it’s an especially important year to give people an option to watch the fireworks at home.

“If you’re inclined to come out there, if you’ve had your vaccinations, we’d love to have you, and if not you’re going to have a great experience watching it on Channel 6 and all of our digital platforms as well,” Hoffman said. “We have the helicopter shot and we have different cameras pretty much all over the place. So you’re going to have a lot of fun even if getting back out into a crowd is not your thing.”

Hoffman said News 6 will take steps to safely broadcast live from Lake Eola.

“Our plan is to operate pretty much the way we have throughout the pandemic, with proper social distancing and masking if needed,” Hoffman said. “We plan to keep ourselves separated a little bit from the crowd, as we’re advised to do. We’re going to follow the CDC guidelines.”

News 6 coverage will begin at 8 p.m. by honoring Central Florida’s heroes. The fireworks will broadcast live on News 6 and ClickOrlando.com at 9:15 p.m. and live coverage including a “choose your view” streaming option starts at 8 p.m.

“To have it back live and have it back on the air it’s just a great honor for the station, it’s great fun for everybody who’s here because we really enjoyed participating in this event which is also a day when we honor people that are getting results for our community, that are first responders, that keep our country safe,” Hoffman said.