A year on after the release of the blockbuster Queen biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Japan is set to pay tribute to the legendary British rock band in its own special way. This November, the night skies of Osaka, Chiba and Miyazaki will be ablaze with fireworks synchronised to the film's official soundtrack. 13,000 fireworks will be launched at each Queen Super Fireworks show for an hour-long extravaganza, suitably over-the-top to fit the band’s persona.
The event is directed by Ryo Oya, who is considered one of Japan’s foremost experts in pyrotechnics; he specialises in programming fireworks displays with music. Oya has painstakingly calculated each blast down to 1/30 of a second in order to synch perfectly with the rhythms and lyrics of the band’s greatest hits, so we can only imagine the kind of spectacle that will accompany big bold songs like ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Somebody to Love’.
While epic fireworks are considered one of Japan’s specialities – especially with a host of highly anticipated festivals put on every summer – it’s likely that no other shows will quite reach the magnitude of this one for the rest of the year given the country’s steadfast and longstanding love for Queen. In an interview with NHK, Roger Taylor said, ‘Japan was the first to really love Queen and go crazy for the band. We never forget that, the first time arriving at Haneda in Tokyo, it was incredible.’
Queen’s Brian May made a comment on the event itself, which was officially approved by Queen, saying, ‘Japan is a special place for Queen. We are very excited to hear that the Japanese traditional fireworks will light up the sky with our music. In 2020, we will be coming back to Japan for a tour so it’s great that there are many opportunities for the fans to enjoy our music. I wish I could be there to see it!’.
If you didn’t nab tickets to Queen’s world tour with Adam Lambert a few months ago, you may be out of luck as tickets sold out almost immediately. However, you can still purchase tickets to Queen Super Fireworks here.
Standard seating costs ¥7,560, but you can get discounted tickets at ¥6,480 if you’re early enough. Seating for elementary school students is ¥2,700 and anyone younger than that can view for free if they’re sharing a seat with an adult. The dates and venues are as follow:
Nov 3, 2019 Maishima Sports Island (Osaka)
Nov 16, 2019 Urayasushi Total Park (Chiba)
Nov 30, 2019 Miyazaki Rink Park (Miyazaki)
See the official website for more details.