Stadium of Fire - 1993

The Stadium of Fire is an annual patriotic event held in the Brigham Young University stadium and has become one of the largest Independence Day celebrations in the United States. The show was created by Alan Osmond back in 1980 and features the largest stadium fireworks show in America.

I was privileged to work on the very first one of these shows with Alan and Merrill and the Osmond family, and was hired again thirteen years later (in 1993) to write, produce and direct this fabulous annual extravaganza. Mick Shannon and Joe Lake, the founders of the Children’s Miracle Network, now owned the rights and were the executive producers and asked me to create and run the show for them this year.

What a fabulous opportunity to stretch my creative muscles! I took a leave of absence from my CEO role at Dayton FilmCorp to run this show and rented an apartment in Salt Lake City in late January to get started. “Wait a minute!” The show wasn’t until the 4th of July and I was starting on it in January…yes, this big of a show takes quite a bit of time to build. I was really in my element because remember that I had been trained by probably the very best “big show” designer by my first boss at Disneyland, Bob Jani, who taught me how to really think big. This was right up my alley and I was excited to get started.

Because this is a fireworks show, the very first thing I did was to sit down with Brad Bone, the pyrotechnic genius who had designed every one of the shows since 1980. This guy really knew how to blow up the sky!

And…we needed a theme to build the flow of the show around. I had always loved the wonderful song, “America the Beautiful” and that seemed to be an absolutely perfect idea to build upon.

So, I asked Brad to construct firework set pieces that would represent America from “sea to shining sea.” He created a sensational set, that when it was lit up, showed every iconic structure that represented everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge – and everything in between (St. Louis Arch, Mount Rushmore, Liberty Bell, etc.). I wish you could have heard the cheers that went up when we lit up those set pieces…what a thrill!

Several years before, the show had created what we called an “International Fireworks Competition” between three of the top firework producing countries in the world – China, France and Japan. It literally blew the roof off, it was fabulous. So that concept was added to our growing roster of fabulous stuff. This show is famous for the top talent it attracts each year and who become the headline acts for the show. This year it was top recording artists Kenny Loggins and Jeffery Osborne, along with the reigning  Miss America, Leanza Cornett. It was quite a show.

One of the most looked-forward-to features of almost every fireworks (and every other stadium show through the years) is a fly-over of military aircraft. The art of that event is, as you probably know, to have the jets fly over just as the National Anthem reaches “…and the home of the brave” – then swoosh with a thundering blast. The first year I did this way back in 1980, I had worked and worked to get the timing exactly right. There was always a land-based commander who talked to the jet pilots in the sky and gave them the countdown and the timing to hit the stadium at just the right moment. The jets would be circling several miles to the south of the stadium until they started their run north to be at the right place and the right time. Most of the time they hit it. But, this year (since I was the guy in charge) I tried something different. I asked the Colonel on the radio simply to sing along with the Anthem…and the pilots hit it precisely on the money! It was beautiful…and thrilling…and a real “high” moment if it was executed flawlessly.

I was “high” in that moment…but, it was about to get better. Showtime!

I really loved working on this show and have been a real fan of it ever since, even if I don’t attend. And, it was exciting to be able to talk to the public about the wonderful traditions of this event and the privilege it was to just be a small part of making it happen.

Please let me share with you the welcome piece I wrote for the program.

What a night! On the eve of our country’s 217th anniversary as a nation of free men and women, we gather together once again to celebrate the day that John Quincy Adams so aptly dubbed, the “Grand and Glorious Fourth.” He, of course, was speaking specifically of America’s first birthday in 1777, and he was admonishing his countrymen to celebrate with “cannon fire and the ringing of bells throughout the land.”

We folks, sit back and get ready to have your bell rung ‘cause here we go again! It’s time to wave the Flag, light up the sky, heat up the stadium, and sing a catchy song or two, all to say “Happy birthday America…God shed His grace on thee.”

One hundred years ago, Katherine Lee Bates wrote her poetic tribute to “America the Beautiful” which, after having been set to Samuel Ward’s tuneful music, has been promoted in some circles as a new national anthem. Her stirring words, which we have taken as our theme tonight, remind us all of the blessings of being citizens of this promised and bounteous land.

Tonight’s show is something of a watershed, as the Osmond Foundation takes over the creative reins of the “Stadium of Fire” from its very imaginative creator, Alan Osmond. Alan left some big shoes to fill and now its up to Foundation President Mick Shannon and Executive Vice President Joseph Lake to out-dazzle and out-wow you…a very loyal and discerning audience of annual patriotic revelers, who have come to expect great things of this event.

So, once again, we treat you musically in a special concert format, featuring two of the recording industry’s giant talents…Kenny and Jeffrey, both special friends of the Foundation, whose unique musical offerings will be a creative change of pace for this show. And we know that you’ve always enjoyed the Miss America’s of yesteryears, and are confident that you will feel the same about tonight’s very special guest, Leznza Cornett, Miss America 1993.

In researching tonight’s show, we discovered that the most talked-about feature by many of you down through the years has been the International Fireworks Competition. So, since you asked for it, enjoy once again some incredible combustible “pyro” magic from the master technicians from China, France and Japan, all coordinated and programmed by our own personal “fire chef,” Brad Bone.

 Tonight also marks the exciting debut of a very talented group of young people, gathered from all over the state of Utah especially for this evening’s performance. Our own Utah High School Honor Drill Team, all 500 of them representing 26 high schools from Tremonton to Green River, is the largest single group of precision performers ever to grace the Stadium of Fire.

Of course, this show could not be mounted without the very generous support of our wonderful sponsors and our many tireless volunteers. The Foundation is grateful to the terrific folks at Fred Meyer, TCI Cablevision of Utah, Coca-Cola/Maceys, KSL Television and KSL 1160 Newsradio for assisting them in helping to continue to build the traditions of the Stadium of Fire and most especially since, from now on, they will be participating in a true benefit.

The Osmond Foundation is delighted to be closely associated with America’s Freedom Festival at Provo and is looking forward to working together in expanding this happy extravaganza in future years.

But, for now…it’s time to celebrate America the Beautiful and a Grand and Glorious Fourth! You’ll have to excuse me…I’ve got to go load the cannons. Enjoy!

Mike Wuergler, Producer/Director for The Osmond Foundation