It'll only last five minutes, but the fireworks set to go off at the Sky Tower at midnight have been six months in the making.
The installation of 500kg of pyrotechnics was completed on the Auckland landmark on Saturday morning, ready to welcome in the new year with a bang.
"We've worked at some pretty good locations around the world - from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the Thames River in London - but coming up here on an icon of the city that's going to be seen worldwide, SkyCity's the place to be on New Year's Eve because it's the first in the world," says PyroStar managing director Robert McDermott.
"Sydney's a much bigger show, with a much bigger budget, but this is the iconic first show in the world… we're leading the way."
It's not an easy gig to organise, with not just personal safety on the line but the nation's communications infrastructure.
"We've always got to be careful what our tenants have got on the tower, because we are the communications broadcaster for New Zealand," says Paul Novella, SkyCity senior facilities supervisor.
Planning for the show began way back in June.
"A lot of people don't realise the time and effort that goes into this… but it's well worth it," says Mr McDermott.
There are eight firing positions at level 55 - 200m up - and 30 more at level 61. There are 1400 different cues to trigger the fireworks, using 10km of electrical wire. In all, 3000 shots will be fired.
Mr McDermott thinks Auckland should aim higher in future.
"It would be nice in the future to be able to do something a little bit bigger out on the harbour and make a bigger show of it, but right now this is SkyCity's gift back to the city of Auckland."
But Mr Novella's happy with what Aucklanders have already got.
"This is [show] number 15 for me. Every time we do it, it's just amazing."
The lead-up to this year's show will include a countdown clock and a laser show, both beamed onto the tower. Up to 15,000 people are expected to be watching from the city's waterfront, with a similar number in the rest of the CBD.
Newshub.
