Skyfire 25, sponsored by FM radio station 104.7 Canberra, featured more than 40,000 individual pyrotechnic effects and entertainment from pop singer Samantha Jade and boy band The Collective.

Police were unable to give an estimate of the size of the crowd, but anecdotal evidence suggested the decades old event had lost none of its popularity.

ACT Policing Superintendent Robert Wilson said only three young people were taken into custody for under-age drinking at the event, a significant reduction from 12 last year, and until 10pm there were no other arrests or anti-social behaviour.

''It was great, Canberrans should all be congratulated on their behaviour tonight,'' he said.

He credited an ACT Policing media campaign called 'Don't take your chances,' which has been targeting under age drinkers, with helping to reduce the number of teenagers drinking alcohol at Skyfire.

Police said there were some traffic delays on the north side of Lake Burley Griffin heading into Civic after the event.

Grace Terry, of Conder, arrived on the south side of the lake with two friends about 8.10pm, and said she was looking forward to the fireworks, despite poor phone reception preventing the trio from meeting up with the rest of their group.

''I'm just pretty keen on the fireworks, so hopefully it'll be awesome, and then [we'll] skedaddle,'' she said.

Karl Heath and Cassandra Butcher of Higgins positioned themselves near the stage at Regatta Point with their three-month-old son Thomas, wearing baby headphones to block out the noise, sleeping in his pram.

Ms Butcher said she had been to Skyfire seven or eight times, and liked it better than last week's centenary celebrations, which she said lacked food and entertainment.

''It's good to have stuff on in Canberra, but they were probably too close together when you think about it, because what are we going to do for the rest of the year,'' she said.