Behind the scenes of Stadium of Fire

BYUs Stadium of Fire has been a fixture of patriotic summer fun in Utah since 1980.

First held in Cougar Stadium now LaVell Edwards stadium the first Stadium of Fire featured the prolific Osmond family as the main performers, with a firework spectacular to finish things off.

Elephants, lots more fireworks and even the Jonas Brothers have all made appearances over the years at Stadium of Fire.

This years event, made extra special by tributes to Americas 250th anniversary and Alan Osmond, included the biggest single firework ever shot at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The firework-filled event was the finale of Americas Freedom Festival at Provo, closing out weeks of celebration with an emphatic and literal bang.

Emory Cook, a longtime spokesperson for the Freedom Festival, explained what goes into putting on the event.

We work closely each year with BYU administration, facilities management, and safety departments to coordinate a smooth and safe event. BYU has always been a wonderful partner, Cook said.

The entire Freedom Festival event calendar, which included a parade, pickleball tournament and even a baby contest required hundreds of volunteers on top of the Festivals executive team.

Country superstar and three-time Grammy award winner Brad Paisley headlined Stadium of Fire, with Nitro Circus and Fireworks by Grucci providing stunts and pyrotechnics.

Musical group GENTRI and the Stadium of Fire dancers performed, with a military fly-over also being a significant part of the event.

Wayne Baruch, co-founder of Baruch Gayton Productions, has created and produced events for Carnegie Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the FIFA World Cup.

The company has helped create and produce Stadium of Fire since 2004.

Stadium of Fire, Baruch says, is the biggest stadium fireworks show in the country .

There are hundreds and hundreds of shells involved of various sizes ranging up to six inch shells which are capable of going 600 feet, Baruch said.

Baruch said that the event exists in large part because of Alan Osmond.

As an avid pyrotechnics lover, Osmond combined his love for fireworks with a desire to create a space to celebrate the nations independence.

The main reason was to create a patriotic event for the community, he said. Hes the one who set it off.

Stadium of Fire also included athletes from Nitro Circus, one of the worlds premiere action sports organizations.

Nitro Circus first came to BYU in 2021, and were invited back for the special 250th anniversary celebration.

My producing partner Chuck Gayton and I reached out to them and said look, its a special occasion and wed like you to come back, Baruch said. So theyre making their triumphant return.

The show included help from hundreds of individuals, involving and countless event staff.

BYU Special Events and BYU Security helped to run the event at the stadium itself, controlling the flow of crowds and helping to direct attendees to the proper areas.

BYU Security employee Calvin Davis helped work the event.

Its a lot of work directing the masses, but its great to help out all the patriotic Cougar fans, Davis said.

Around 50,000 people filled LaVell Edwards stadium to watch the event in person.

Stadium of Fire is also broadcast to the American Forces Television Network each year, allowing thousands of American troops to watch the celebration from around the world.