Thousands of movie fans were treated to a sky-wide cinema last night as film soundtracks were brought to life by Aberdeen’s stunning fireworks display on the Beach Boulevard.
The event began with a performance by fire jugglers who expertly stoked excitement in the 12,000-strong crowd.
Volunteers from the disability support charity Inspire were also putting a show by challenging their fundraisers to walk across hot coals.
One of the hardy participants was Aleksandra Kostova, who is from Bulgaria but now lives in Aberdeen.
She spoke of her delight at being able to take part in the festivities, saying: “I work as a support worker part-time and see the work that these guys do.
“It was super fun and the team that put it together are great – plus the coals weren’t actually as hot as I was expecting.”
Volunteer John Hog added: “This is the first time I’ve tried the fire walk.
“Inspire is a great charity and this is juts something so different that I knew I had to do – they’ve organised the coal walk for eight years now.”
From 7.30pm, the sounds of Rocky, Harry Potter and Jurassic Park heralded the arrival of a spectacular display of pyrotechnics.
Dirty Dancing’s “I’ve Had the Time of My Life”accompanied the arrival of a red love-heart shaped explosion, while Adele’s “Skyfall” provided the soundtrack to the display’s riveting finale.
Created by Fireworx Scotland, the show was the culmination of weeks of preparation as the team selected music, diligently planned and designed the show and co-ordinated the fun on the night.
Families and friends watched eagerly from the Beach Boulevard, Queen’s Link and the surrounding Esplanade areas.
Aberdeen City Council Culture spokesperson councillor Marie Boulton said: “The annual fireworks spectacular is always a highlight on the Aberdeen events calendar and tonight did not disappoint.
“Aberdeen is undergoing a great transformation at the moment with significant development linked to our city centre masterplan.
“Providing quality events through our Events 365 programme and bringing city spaces to life for the community is vitally important.
“With more than 12,000 people at the beach tonight, there was a fantastic family atmosphere and it is an excellent example of the appetite in the city for community events.
“The fire jugglers and charity fire-walk by Inspire were the perfect beginning to the evening and the display created by Fireworx Scotland was incredible.”
