For just one night a year, the Port of San Diego puts on the Big Bay Boom, one of the largest Fourth of July fireworks shows in the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported. The show was supposed to last for 18 minutes. When it came time to perform, the fireworks did go off–but not one after another, like they were supposed to. Instead, all of the fireworks went off at the same time. The show that visitors had camped out for hours to see ended in a mere 15 seconds. Whoops.
The show was advertised as being "bigger and more intense than in past years." It was so popular that hotels nearby offered special Fourth of July rates so that customers could watch the show from their rooms. The organizers also set up free buses and shuttles, the LA Times reported.
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But after the sun set, there were no pretty fireworks to see. Instead, there was just something in the sky that resembled a massive fire, accompanied by a boom and a rumble so intense that they could be felt throughout downtown San Diego, ABC News reported. Confused and stunned onlookers waited to find out when the show would go on. Twenty-five minutes later, they got their answer: that was it.
Garden State Fireworks, the company that produces the event, blamed the unfortunate spectacle on a computer glitch, MSNBC reported. “We apologize to all the residents and all the people who missed their fireworks," a spokesman told MSNBC.
Needless to say, spectators are not happy. “Ooooo ahhhh. Said no one in San Diego bay #fail #bigbayboom,” tweeted one visitor, according to ABC.
Watch a video of the fireworks fail below:
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