15min spectacle: Putting together Singapore Sports Hub’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display

SINGAPORE – Fireworks and New Year’s Eve are as iconic a pairing as roses and Valentine’s Day or pumpkins and Halloween, with one key difference: Fireworks are intangible, disappearing almost as quickly as they appear in the sky. 

But even a 15-minute fireworks sequence – like the one that will be lighting up the Singapore Sports Hub when the clock strikes midnight on Jan 1, 2025 – leans on more than a dozen technicians and workers, three to four lorry cranes and a 6m-long container full of pyrotechnics inventory. 

The festive fireworks will have a footprint of 150m across the sky, and shoot up as high as 200m. On-site preparations in Kallang began on Dec 26, while choreography and design of the sequence started about a month ago.

Mr Ronnie Wee, 48, a fireworks choreographer with Explomo Corporation, is the man at the heart of this extensive operation. He tells The Straits Times this is only the second time he is attempting to execute a 15-minute continuous display – the first time was during a competition in Berlin in 2009.

The big challenge with extended displays, he says, is keeping the audience entertained and engaged throughout, whether they are at or near the Sports Hub, or watching from home on television.

The fireworks will be the finale of the Mediacorp Let’s Celebrate 2025 countdown show, which will be broadcast on several platforms, including mewatch.

Mr Wee says: “It can’t be too fast or too slow – it needs to have some ups and down, highs and lows, and these need to be synchronised with the music. We do try to play on emotions and take people on a journey while they are watching the fireworks.”

Just as Christmas trees are mostly sold during the holiday season, New Year’s Eve is a peak period for the fireworks industry. As such, Mr Wee and his team are working on other fireworks displays around the island, although the show for Let’s Celebrate 2025 is the largest by far. 

“It’s definitely a seasonal job, but there are other events throughout the year that might keep us busy, such as concerts – the company just handled two concerts last weekend,” he says.

While it is fun to work on these events and experience them in a way that few others do, Mr Wee says there is a downside.

“You can’t actually enjoy the event, because you’re so focused on making sure you do your part properly. The hours are also irregular and you’re on your feet all day.”

He adds: “Even a five-minute display takes so many man-hours – everyone on the team sacrifices so much of their time even before we go on-site to do the set-up. It’s a dirty job – literally – your hands get black by the end of the day.”

Close attention to detail is a key skill for any aspiring fireworks choreographer, he says. After all, fireworks are a one-and-done deal – there is no way to test them, and there are no do-overs.

“We also have to be very careful because we are dealing with dangerous items. We can’t afford to be careless even for a moment, and have to be very vigilant at all times,” he notes.

Fortunately, he has not had any major mishaps happen under his watch over his 21-year career. It helps that much of the process is computerised, and has been since Mr Wee joined the industry in 2003. 

“The few mistakes that have happened have been small – the ‘if you know, you know’ type of things. For instance, maybe one part was supposed to have been blue, but ended up green.

“The audience won’t know what was intended, but I will know, obviously. But we’re working hard to make sure everything goes smoothly and safely on New Year’s Eve,” he adds.