Skyfire is back on Saturday night for the first time in five years, with organisers planning for a safe and spectacular event at Lake Burley Griffin and police warning they will be targeting under-aged drinking, anti-social behaviour and drink driving.
Canberrans have also been advised to take public transport to the event, with free bus and light rail from 5pm on Saturday until the end of service that same night.
The main event - 18-minutes of fireworks synchronised to a soundtrack - will start at 8.30pm on Saturday, launching from 11 firing positions across the central basin.
There will be lots of entertainment and food from 5pm at the main stage at Regatta Point, including Hit104.7 & Mix106.3's live simulcast. Markets will open on the southern shore of the lake at Commonwealth Place from 2pm.
Jazzy K will take to the stage at 7pm, iconic Aussie rock band Dragon will perform from 7.30pm and DJ Divito will hit the decks from 8.05pm.
The Australian Defence Force will support the 32nd Skyfire with both a flypast and ground display.
A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft will conduct a flypast at 6pm.
At ground level, the Australia's Federation Guard Precision Drill Team and the Band of the Royal Military College will perform at Rond Terrace between 6pm and 8.30pm.
The last Skyfire was held in 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled the day before the fireworks were due to go off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event is organised by AmplifyCBR, owner of the MIX 106.3 and Hit 104.7 radio stations and made possible with contributions from sponsors and "significant support" from the ACT Government's major event fund.
AmplifyCBR general manager Craig Wagstaff anticipates 100,000 people to attend Skyfire, many for the first time.
"We're back! We're back. It's fantastic," he said.
"It will be the 32nd instalment of an event which started as our radio station's way of genuinely saying, 'Thank you to the community and the city we call home'."
Foti International Fireworks pyrotechnician Fortunato Foti was glad to be back as well, saying there would be more than 14,000 effects in the fireworks.
"If we can get 100,000 people there having a great time, especially after the last few years that haven't been so great, we've done our job," he said.
ACT Policing's Sergeant Luke Houlihan said police would be targeting under-aged drinking, anti-social behaviour and drink driving.
Police would be patrolling north and south sides of the lake.
"If you are planning to drink, please plan a way home. Don't drink drive, we will be out looking for that," Sergeant Houlihan said.
"If you've got older teenagers, or young kids going out with their friends, try to have an idea where they're going and what they're up to, to make sure you know where they are and they're going to be safe.
"If we do find any under-aged drinking, our first contact is to get on to the parents to come and collect them.
"We'll be out, we'll be friendly, come and say hello but we're there to keep everyone safe and get them home."
Ian McGlinn, executive branch manager for Transport Canberra Bus Operations, urged people to use public transport to and from Skyfire.
"We'll have additional transport officers onsite at the event and we'll also have an additional 20 articulated vehicles moving along the corridor, so we can bring people in, in an orderly fashion, and also, at the end of the event, we can move people back out.
"I would recommend people take public transport on this occasion, use the main corridors, use our Park and Ride facilities, and that will ease the congestion across Commonwealth Avenue and supporting areas.
"There are a lot of road closures around the Parliamentary precinct so take that into consideration."
More than 25 food trucks will be operating from around the lake from mid-afternoon on Saturday.
The Skyfire Village markets at Queen Elizabeth Terrace at Commonwealth Place on the southern shore of the lake will be open from 2pm to 8.30pm.
More details here.
