The Wildest Fireworks Show on Earth
Years ago, when I was a young co-pilot, my company was hired for an incredible job: fly two planes to the United Arab Emirates for a Sheik’s wedding celebration. One plane would carry fireworks. The other would carry the team behind the show—including John, a fireworks expert famous for designing the legendary 1976 Bicentennial display in New York.
The Sheik wanted a show like no other: fireworks followed by a high-tech laser display. The wedding would take place at a grand palace, with men and women watching from separate areas inside the walls. Our team set up just outside the wall, hidden from view, so only the fireworks would be visible.
The number of explosives we had was insane—bottle rockets, Roman candles, massive aerial shells with names like Brocade, Peony, and Glitter. Everything had to be fired by hand. John and Mark handled the biggest mortars. Rich had rows of Roman candles. Bill and I were in charge of non-stop bottle rocket launches from 55-gallon drums. We even had opening and closing salvos made of bundled rockets that would launch all at once.
Setup took hours. Workers dug holes for the mortar tubes, unpacked crates, and stacked boxes in careful rows. Our location was tightly organized rows of barrels and stacks of rockets ready to go.
Then, an hour before the show, a surprise: a caravan of luxury cars—Ferraris, Lamborghini’s, Bentleys, Rolls Royces—pulled up behind us. Royals in traditional robes stepped out, clearly expecting a VIP view. They parked just behind our rocket line.
The show began exactly on cue. As flares lit, the night exploded with fire and sound. Rockets streaked into the sky, shaking the ground and filling the air with sparks and smoke. It was total chaos—in the best way.
But then disaster struck.
Bill, using a flare that burned too long, accidentally set off a whole stack of bottle rockets. One dripping spark hit a fuse, which lit another, then another. Suddenly, in slow motion, over 80 rockets launched sideways, half toward the palace wall, the other half directly at the line of parked luxury cars and dignitaries.
We could see behind us. It was mayhem. All the bigwigs and crowned heads had either hit the dirt making themselves as small as possible or had scrambled around behind their cars. Bottle Rockets were launching continuously and methodically, aiming unbiased at those priceless Bentley’s, Rolls Royce’s, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris, making direct hits. Some impaled front grills and radiators while others made precise hits on hoods and windshields. This caused them to ricochet and go ballistic in every direction.
Rockets flew at waist height. Some did loops in the air, some exploded on the ground, and others reversed direction after hitting the palace wall—something the guests thought was a special effect!
On the other side of the wall, Mark, John, and Rich dove for cover as rockets zipped by their heads. The smoke was so thick they couldn’t see what was happening—until it was too late. John sprinted back to our position, furious, but there was nothing to be done. The rockets had to burn themselves out.
Somehow, the main show continued. The final mortar barrage was stunning—even without our rocket finale. Then the laser show kicked off, using the smoke as a backdrop. It was beautiful and loud, keeping everyone distracted.
That’s when Frank, our local contact and the Sheik’s right-hand man, appeared. He was grinning ear to ear. From the palace side, it looked like a perfectly choreographed masterpiece. Guests gave a standing ovation. The Sheik was thrilled. Frank even hugged John and Mark in excitement.
When we finally told Frank what had really happened—about the rocket accident, the damaged cars, the near-miss chaos—he burst out laughing. “Best story I’ve ever heard,” he said.
He turned to the group of angry royals pacing by their blemished vehicles, yelled something in Arabic, and sent them away.
Then he smiled at us and said, “All taken care of.”
We stood there, stunned. Somehow, we’d pulled off the wildest, most chaotic, and unexpectedly successful fireworks show ever seen.