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No, the Sunsphere in Knoxville did not actually catch on fire

People on social media shared videos of the Sunsphere on fire during a festival. However, it was actually part of a pyrotechnics show.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Social media erupted with images and videos of the popular Knoxville landmark, the Sunsphere, saying it had caught on fire during the Big Kahuna Wings Festival. 

People online speculated that it was caused by a fireworks show gone wrong.

However, the Sunsphere itself is perfectly fine. The sparks seen in the video were actually part of an elaborate pyrotechnics show.

Sunsphere currently on fire. Around for 40 years only to be taken out by a chicken wing festival.

Posted by David Little on Sunday, September 5, 2021

The Knoxville Fire Department confirmed on its Twitter account that, no, the Sunsphere had not caught on fire. The fire department said that the sparks seen in the video were part of the fireworks display at the Big Kahuna Wing Festival.

Workers on-site at the Sunsphere said that the combination of the reflections from the Sunsphere itself and the water's surface of the World's Fair Park made the sparks look much larger.

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