Greenville responds after botched fireworks show

GREENVILLE, S.C. – After receiving complaints about Wednesday night's annual "Red, White and Blue" fireworks show in downtown Greenville, officials have released a response, stating that a large number of the fireworks were never discharged because of a malfunction.

Several people took to the the city's Facebook page to voice their dissatisfaction with the display, with comments saying that the show started late, was out of sync with the FM radio broadcast, and lacked a "grand finale".

According to officials, the Independence Day event draws about 50,000 visitors to the city each year.

(Editor's note: To read about San Diego's fireworks display that lasted about 15 seconds because of a malfunction, click here.)

The complete statement from the city of Greenville is presented below.

"We are committed to producing high quality special events for the community, so when we learned that the fireworks company we had used in the past was unavailable this year, we selected a company that is one of the premier fireworks companies in the country.

Unfortunately, it’s our understanding that the company’s equipment malfunctioned and despite their attempts to override the system, a large percentage of the fireworks were never discharged.

There is no one more disappointed than the City staff, sponsors and hundreds of volunteers who came together to produce this event. We recognize that this was not up to the standards of the Greenville community and hope this will not deter you from attending future City events."