February 12, 2020. Louisville, KY. – Just 66 days and counting to this year’s Thunder Over Louisville – the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies set for Saturday, April 18. The Festival announced details of this year’s show at their headquarters this morning. GE Appliances, a Haier company, was announced as the newest Presenting Sponsor of the show, joining Caesars Southern Indiana, LG&E, Meijer, and UPS.
“Without the support of these generous sponsors, we simply wouldn’t be able to produce the kind of spectacular Thunder show the public has come to expect year after year,” said Matt Gibson, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “Their sponsorship is a gift to the entire community.”
GE Appliances was one of the first sponsors of the Derby Festival in 1956. GE has sponsored various events on the Festival’s schedule over the years. This is their first year as a presenting sponsor of Thunder.
“We’ve called Louisville home for almost 70 years, and we’re honored to have the opportunity to invest in this special celebration for our hometown,” said GE Appliances President and CEO Kevin Nolan. “At GE Appliances, we make millions of appliances every day in Louisville and we appreciate the chance to put the spotlight on this special city and make this an unforgettable event for our employees, our neighbors, our customers and our community.”
This is the 30th consecutive year that UPS has been a presenting sponsor of Thunder Over Louisville. Caesars Southern Indiana has been a presenting sponsor for 21 consecutive years. LG&E and Meijer have both been Thunder sponsors for the past 14 years in a row.
The theme of this year’s show is – “Thunder’s Greatest Hits” – and will celebrate the greatest hits from the past 30 years of Thunder soundtracks. Derby Festival officials are also celebrating the return of a Category 1 air box for this year’s air show. A smaller Category 2 air box was put in place in 2015, during the construction of the new bridge.
“Returning to a larger air box will mean even more of those fast and loud aircraft, and demo teams that our fans love,” said Gibson. “The list of air show acts and performers continues to grow as we get closer to the show.”
The 2020 Thunder Air Show will include performances by the U.S. Navy F-35 Demo, U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo, U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Demo and the return of the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, as well as a first time Thunder appearance by the Wild Blue RV8 night time tribute show to recognize First Responders…and much more. Additional details will be released closer to the show date.
In addition to the presenting sponsors, Ford Motor Company returns as title sponsor of Ford’s Thunder on the Ground and Papa John’s returns as title sponsor of Papa John’s Thunder Funder program. Logan Lavelle Hunt is the Official Sound Sponsor, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport returns as title sponsor of the Command Center, and The Galt House is the Official Hotel of the event. Thunder Over Louisville’s 2020 Official Broadcast Partners are WDRB and SummitMedia’s 106.9 PLAY.
Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies – is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The 2019 Thunder Over Louisville, themed “Thunder’s Greatest Hits,” is set for Saturday, April 18, and will be the 31st annual production.
