A team of pyrotechnic engineers are gearing up for the world's first fireworks display of 2018, held on our very own Auckland Sky Tower.
About 3000 fireworks will light up the sky at midnight for the New Year's display, which will last for more than five minutes.
Pyrostar arrived at 6am Sunday, taking only one hour to set up the display, but director and owner Robert McDermott told Newshub preparations started six months ago.
"We have to order the product. It comes from America, it comes from China, it comes from Spain. Some of it can be flown in, but some of it has to be shipped.
"Then we go through a soundtrack and design the show."
Today will be spent "programming around 1000 lines of information" before tonight, Mr McDermott says. The tower's design requires meticulous planning to make sure there's no fallout onto the street below.
But the iconic Auckland building also has its benefits, performance-wise, he says.
"It's really unique working up here and we're working 220m above street level.
"It doesn't matter where you're standing, everyone gets a great view of the tower."
- 80,000 flood into Queenstown and Wanaka for New Years
- New Year, new you: Why Kiwis have a head-start in 2018 weight-loss goals
Sky City hotels and tower general manager Brad Burnett told Newshub that it's "just like any other night" - but there's a bit more going on.
"The Sky Tower is actually 20 years old this year, so we've been doing fireworks off the tower for probably every year, not necessarily for New Years, but there are always a couple of events that we've done the fireworks.
"We get a lot of media attention here in Auckland, so it's great for Auckland, great for New Zealand... it's pretty cool."
Newshub.
