CINCINNATI — The 2026 Western & Southern/WEBN Fireworks show will be the biggest one in its 50-year history, organizers said on Tuesday.
This Labor Day weekend, a second set of barges carrying pyro will be added to the spectacle on the Ohio River. Joe Rozzi, vice president of Rozzi Fireworks, said fireworks will also be launched from riverfront rooftops on both sides of the Ohio River and the crowns of some bridges.
"We're bringing in firing equipment from industry partners, because nobody would have enough to do this whole show on their own," Rozzi said.
WATCH: In its 50th year, WEBN Fireworks show promises a spectacle unlike anything it's displayed before
The goal, organizers said, is to create an immersive 360-degree firework viewing experience, where spectators are sitting "inside the fireworks."
"We're doubling up on the firepower, for starters. This is going to be sort of a theater in the round, in that fireworks will be going on all around you," John Barrett, chairman, president and CEO of Western & Southern Financial Group, said. "No matter where you're sitting in the riverfront area, it's going to be a 360-degree show."
Event organizers said they anticipate more than 500,000 people will watch the show in person and even more on television. The fireworks show, which caps off Riverfest, is expected to generate between $25 and $30 million in economic activity for businesses in the area.
"I think everybody, when they get wind of what's coming, is going to want to be here," Barrett said. "So our crowd might be, on the ground, monstrous."
The show will also feature another milestone: it will import some fireworks for the display from Akita, Japan for the first time in 40 years.
"The Japanese are known for making very, very high-end, beautiful fireworks. They have a completely different mindset of how they display them," Rozzi said.
Rozzi said other fireworks for the show will come from a manufacturer in Connecticut, as well as Rozzi Fireworks.
The event takes place Labor Day weekend on Sept. 6 between noon and 10 p.m. The fireworks show starts at 9 p.m.
