famed Vegas Strip. Now more people than ever are flocking to this area. In 2006, the experience had 19 million visitors.

“Visitors come to Fremont Street Experience for multiple reasons,” said Jeff Victor, president of the Fremont Street Experience. “We offer free live entertainment, an intimate party atmosphere with a laid back feel and a group of great casinos in close proximity to one another.”

Lighting up the Vegas skies

The most obvious and largest part of the Fremont Street Experience is the Viva Vision canopy and light show. The canopy towers 90 feet above the ground and spans the length of five football fields. Featuring more than 12 million LED modules and 555,000-watt sound system, the light show attracts tourists and locals alike.

The first light show was broadcast in 1995. Nearly a decade later in 2004, $17 million was invested in upgrading the Viva Vision canopy. Significant improvements were made and now it has 10 times higher resolution, resulting in clearer, sharper pictures. It can also display 16.7 million color combinations. The display is so sharp, live video can be broadcast on what is the world's largest screen.

Viva Vision features shows like “Lucky Vegas,” celebrating the city’s famous icons, “Downtown Divas,” a tribute to a girls’ night out and “Speed, Smoke and Spinning Wheels,” which illustrates the world of fast-paced auto racing.

Psychedelic shows include “The Drop,” a journey through an underwater utopia filled with beautiful sea creatures and “Shag With a Twist,” an animated show that features Southern California artist Josh Agle's unique artwork combining elements of “Austin Powers,” “The Jetsons,” tiki culture and '60s imagery.

Visitors can also enjoy the patriotic show, “American Freedom” during Fourth of July.

Released in Spring 2008, "A Tribute to Queen" is  the first Viva Vision show dedicated to one artist. Visitors can listen to "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" while admiring the stunning graphics above.  

Inside the Fremont Street Experience building, a master control room delivers all the magic to the Viva Vision light show. Technicians have only three minutes to load the show on the big screen. They are assisted by eight high-tech computers that intertwine the light, visual and audio systems.

Cameras are mounted on the actual Viva Vision screen and transmit a live video feed to a row of LCD screens inside the control room so technicians can monitor the show.