Skyfest 2009 Waterford

Aquos76

Event Details

Date: Saturday 14th March

Event: The National Lottery Skyfest

Location: The Quays, Waterford City

Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm

A breathtaking fireworks display is unleashed over and above the River Suir. Thousands gather on the quays to view this awesome pyro-musical show where dazzling colours and explosive effects are choreographed to an amazing soundtrack curated by Mark McCabe. The evening will kick off with a performance from Kìla themselves who are renowned for their uniquely energetic performances.

Just over 2 weeks now, should be a good nights entertainment with plenty of great photo opportunities


http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/cms/events_skyfest.html

old gregg

EXCELLENT! there should be fireworks every day

ziedth

Wont it still be bright at half 6 though?

Aquos76

ziedth wrote: »

Wont it still be bright at half 6 though?

Yeah, but the fireworks display wont actually begin until around 8ish. Its usually screened live on RTE also.

owenmakken

ziedth wrote: »

Wont it still be bright at half 6 though?

Don't think itll matter, heard they could only afford a couple of packs of black cats this year. Should be still good - they'r gonna throw a few into bins and maybe tape two together!

Aquos76

Money I don't think will be an issue as the national lottery are paying for it. They are probably the only organisation that have increased profits since we entered into the recession.

robtri

nice to see it here again, should help brighten things up even for a couple of hours...

greatgoal

brilliant, meself and mrs greatgoal are booked into dooleys from fri 13 to mon 16,happy days.

old gregg

greatgoal wrote: »

brilliant, meself and mrs greatgoal are booked into dooleys from fri 13 to mon 16, and hosting a free drink and techno rave all weekend, you are all invited! happy days.

greatgoal

old gregg wrote: »

lol..probably worn out after pat mc manus and bernie marsden in electric avenue on fri night..but perserverence....keep her lit..

Professey Chin

....Mark McCabe.......really?.....

ziedth

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

....Mark McCabe.......really?.....

OGGIE......OGGIE.........OGGIE (Excuse Spelling)

God that will take me back, Ya seemingly they are doing the lotto draw live from the quay at 8 and then the fireworks are straight after it.

maquiladora

Excellent! Didn't know this was coming to Waterford...

Jaysus there's gonna be some crowd on the quay for that.

Cabaal

should be fun

Trotter

Is there any confirmation of what time the fireworks will be on at and how much they'll last?

stick-dan

who's there with the camera?? barry you will be wont you, any good vantage points?

Bluezar

Sounds Cool!!!

Eye

I'll be there with my camera anyway looking forward to it.

Not sure of the best spots as they are saying no viewing from the bridge, the quays will be too mad to setup a tripod and not have it kicked about......hmmmmmm

would love to be able to get access to the roof of the tower hotel....that would be sweet anyone know any manager there?

SUPER AMAZING

051 862300

that's the Tower Hotel's number listed for "personal calls"
Not sure who to ask for though.

maquiladora

Heard there is going to be over 4,000 fireworks. Should be spectacular.

themetallifan

Just flicked over to RTE1 there when they were showing it...

Seemed like a good firework show, but seriously, the director of that TV programme should be sacked. Everytime there was a climax and loads of fireworks were set off, they zoomed in on one firework....and then faded out with either some 'psychadelic' filter or with some tourist attraction in Waterford (one of which appeared to be street...how exciting). The sound of the accompanying music also kept going on and off...

I'm not saying the fireworks were bad (I couldn't really tell) but so much effort was put in, it's a shame to see them make a balls of the broadcast.

Oh and I heard two separate tourist groups in town (Dublin) today complaining that there were no fireworks on in the city. I mean...Waterford's all well and good, but when it comes down to it, the festival is one huge tourist attraction, which gives a major boost to shops etc over the weekend, and to expect the tourists to travel down is a bit naive.

Anyway..rant over...sorry about that

Mr Ed

Its been there for years and its about time it moved around the country. There's more to Ireland than Dublin.

Could none of the 1,661,185 residents manage to light a firework up there?

mickger

Went to Skyfest and must say it was fantastic and a great boost to the county. Well done to all involved.

Sully

It looks a lot bigger crowd wise then it was. Most of the crowd was up front then everywhere else wasnt that busy at all. Maybe it was just because it was so spread out though. Doubt people travelled from all over either!

Fireworks were fantastic, much better then the Spraoi. Regardless, nothing should be kept in Dublin. These type of events should always be moved around the country increasing tourism and revenue for retailers in the respective county. Dublin will always be busier and benefit more directly from tourism then anywhere else in this country. The South East isnt promoted enough toruism wise by the various tourism bodys so having Skyfest here has raised up the profile a bit.

AdMMM

The presentation was absolutely atrocious. It's a great credit to the pyro crowd to have had the whole thing run in sync to a soundtrack (speaking of which, Rage Against the Machine was a nice touch ) but the RTE presentation completely drowned out the sounds of the fireworks which were absolutely immense! I live on Johns Hill and the sound from the Quay was deafening, yet none of this was captured by RTE who just played the soundtrack! The introduction of MTV-esque shaky cameras and over the top psychedelic effects only served to make this look like a cheap show that was thrown together instead of the grand spectacle that it actually was!

As for people criticising it being held in Waterford. I don't think all National Lottery funding should go to Dublin events. A lot of people worked very hard to bring this to Waterford and I don't think many people would disagree with me when I say it's by far the best location to have such an event outside of Dublin. Economically, this event was a massive success for Waterford. The City Centre was packed all day long with people who have been desperate for something to celebrate for far too long! Thanks to this event, many businesses in Waterford will have been granted a lifeline, for the time being anyway. Lets hope that whoever hosts it next will put as much effort into it to ensure the events success.

On a lighter note, I can't wait for the photos as the conditions were absolutely perfect!

Sosa

I was at it myself with the wife and our 5yo ... he had a ball,could not get over it.
It was great to be able to bring him down and still be home by 8:30as he was getting tired.

Very well organised i thought,we had a great spot in the main crowd in front of the two stages,Derek Mooney is a bit of a bogey though,and getting everyone to look up at the árd rí and talk to this other girl that was probably back stage was pushing it,but i enjoyed the music in the backround as the fireworks went off.

All in all,Waterford whould get more of these events,the Quay is a great spot for it,similar to Cork in that respect.
Looking forward to the tall ships again in 2011

Cabaal

fireworks were the business, took a good number of them just need to get them processed

Aquos76

A few pics, not great quality though










And RTE's coverage of Skyfest 2009
Part 1

Part 2

mike65

I was busy taking in Liverpools thrashing, I say thrashing of Man Utd when I could start to hear thuds in the background - took a moment to realise what was happening flicked over to RTE 1 to check and taped it.

If RTE screwed up the presentation should we be suprised?

Aquos76

mike65 wrote: »

I was busy taking in Liverpools thrashing, I say thrashing of Man Utd when I could start to hear thuds in the background - took a moment to realise what was happening flicked over to RTE 1 to check and taped it.

If RTE screwed up the presentation should we be surprised?

Watching it at lunch time was bad enough Mike, its a bit mad, ye have done the double over us this season but will still end up behind us at the end of the season,;) no way I could sit through highlights.

Anyway back on topic, fair play to the organisers of the Skyfest, it was very well done, RTE's coverage was alright, but as has been pointed out already, they didn't really capture all the sounds from the crowds and the fireworks themselves

Sully

I think there was someone at the ard ri as they had the 3 lotto characters there before turning them off shortly before the event and a lot of lights were on near it..

Overblood

Here's a few pics I took of the fireworks:































By the way, Kila were feckin' brilliant weren't they?

j walsh

There amazing pic's fair play to you, i'm sick i missed it now.

SUNGOD

great photos overblood

strangepaddy

SUNGOD wrote: »

great photos overblood

some vids i took..........sorry im not a great cameraman really:p


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfI4dLAnr6k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RS0AN_E3gk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PskEAsTq6ig

BIGButters

Hello I finally uploaded a video of the skyfest last night

Youtube DESTROYED the quality even in HD so sit a bit fother back from tyour screen and it looks amazing

Their is a lamp post showing at the top if the screen for the first min but after that is perfect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYnKK0o_3ZE&fmt=22

BIGButters

HAHA i got the whole thing in HD !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYnKK0o_3ZE&fmt=22

Sully

No need for a topic on its own dude, the post in the main thread is perfect.

Thanks for linking us!

dannydiamond

Wow Overblood those pics are awsome,cheers.

autograph

Fireworks looked brilliant on TV. Now let's hope the South gets behind the next great thing in Waterford - Jack Lynch - in The All-Ireland Talent Show this evening!!

terradactalxo

It was amazing and Kila were fantabulous! My friends and I were right underneath the fireworks The atmosphere was wonderful aswell! Sometimes you go into town and it's just so dull and dead, but not yesterday!
Well done to everyone who organised it!

deise-lady

Sully wrote: »

Fireworks were fantastic, much better then the Spraoi. QUOTE]

I really don't think it's fair to compare the National Lottery Skyfest with Spraoi!

I'd say Skyfest spent about half a million Euro alone on the fireworks,Spraoi simply wouldn't have the money to put on that kind of show.

Sully

deise-lady wrote: »

Sully wrote: »

Fireworks were fantastic, much better then the Spraoi. QUOTE]

I really don't think it's fair to compare the National Lottery Skyfest with Spraoi!

I'd say Skyfest spent about half a million Euro alone on the fireworks,Spraoi simply wouldn't have the money to put on that kind of show.

Perhaps. It was the only event that I can recall in Waterford that had such a display so I was just comparing it to that.

Cabaal

my photos from lastnight.....maybe need to be processed abit better

greatgoal

watched the whole thing from our room window in Dooleys,brilliant display and stunning view from our bedroom.

Overblood

greatgoal wrote: »

watched the whole thing from our room window in Dooleys,brilliant display and stunning view from our bedroom.

I saw some people looking out their apartment windows along the quay, was half thinking about shouting up at them and saying "oi, can I take a few photos from your window? sound!"... but decided against it. If they looked more studenty and were drinkin I probably would have, but they were kind of auld.

Would you have let a stranger in to take photos from your flat?:pac:

greatgoal

if i had seen you i would have given you a shout,no worries,even though im probably one of the aulds you were looking at..lol

donkphotography

Hey lads, here's a link of photos from last night's EVENT here in Waterford.. please check this out!

http://donkphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/skyfest-in-waterford-14-03-09.html

abouttobebanned

Excellent Blog Donk...really enjoyed that...look forward to seeing you covering a few more waterford events in the future.

kensutz

Nice shots Don. I'll be sure to give you a shout on Tuesday

donkphotography

abouttobebanned wrote: »

Excellent Blog Donk...really enjoyed that...look forward to seeing you covering a few more waterford events in the future.

Thanks man! oh sure if you bookmark my blogsite then you'll be able to see more!