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I actually do remember quite a few fifths of Novembers. As a kid, I’d head down almost every year with my family to Carshalton Park Fireworks in the depths of south London, queuing up for the kind of cheap burger that tastes of nothing but warmth, craning to look at the synthetic stars spidering out into the skies. Then, as a teenager, Carshalton’s fireworks display became a rite of passage of sorts: drinking far too much Glen’s Vodka, sharing awkwardly-illuminated kisses and lighting dodgily-rolled cigarettes.
This year, though, Carshalton Park Fireworks have been cancelled due to ‘escalating costs’ and ‘insufficient support’ from the local council. What’s even more sad is that it’s far from the only show that’s had the plug pulled. In London, Tower Hamlets’ Bonfire Night celebrations at Victoria Park have been cancelled for the fifth year in a row and Blackheath’s event (once London's biggest free display, no less) has been called off due to ‘severe financial pressures’.
Elsewhere in the UK, Manchester’s Heaton Park display has again been redlined; Sheffield’s Manor Fields Park show has been scrapped and Nottingham’s night at the Forest Recreation Ground has bitten the dust. Some of these shows haven’t been held since 2019, never recovering after they were called off due to the pandemic. Others, though, have never faced such troubles; Worthing Pier’s firework display has been cancelled for the first time in 25 years.
Why, then, are so many fireworks displays fizzling out? The usual culprit is, of course, there’s not much money to burn. Councils across England are not particularly keen to fork out on a fancy Guy Fawkes night when they’re already facing a collective £54 billion black hole. ‘It’s 100 percent funding cuts,’ says Jon Culverhouse, managing director of Fantastic Fireworks, which sells fireworks and organises displays. ‘Council cutbacks have cost us alone way over £100,000 in lost revenue’.
He thinks it’s unlikely that councils will cough up in the current climate. ‘In this economic situation, post-Covid, I can’t see any councils reinstating their fireworks displays,’ Culverhouse says. ‘Having broken the mould, there are too many dissenting voices from pressure groups to put it back together even if the money is there. It must always be spent on ‘‘something more worthwhile’’.’
But it’s not just a lack of money that’s sparked all this. More and more councils – and punters – are aware of the potential human and environmental impact. Factories in China – which produces 90 percent of the world’s fireworks – can be incredibly dangerous places of work due to hazardous chemicals and deadly explosions. Then, after being shipped across the world, fireworks release particulate matter into the atmosphere, harming ecosystems and exacerbating respiratory conditions. If looking at the back of a packet of instant ramen gives you fear, try firework ingredients for size: potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur and a medley of metals.
London’s NYE fireworks emit the same amount of CO2 as a flight to Munich for one person
But those in the industry are quick to argue that misinformation in the news is fanning the flames of these fears. ‘There have been lots of stories about what fireworks produce when burnt that just don’t stack up in terms of chemistry,’ says Dr Tom Smith, one of the UK’s leading fireworks experts, explaining that the by-products of combustion are less dangerous than we think.
One study by Celtic Fireworks Limited, the UK’s largest importer of fizzers, whizzers and bangers, claimed that a regional firework display watched by around 5000 people emits 0.33 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is comparable to one takeaway coffee for every 10 people watching. Meanwhile, the Mayor of London stated in a Freedom of Information request that the capital’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display in 2023 emitted 287kg of carbon dioxide – according to Open CO2, that’s equivalent to the emissions produced from a flight from London to Munich for one passenger. ‘As with any other large scale public entertainment, the environmental impact of transporting the audience to the site far outweighs the pollutants generated by creating the entertainment,’ says Mike Jones, a veteran pyrotechnician and founder of The Pyro Studio, which organises huge fireworks displays and events.
But if not pollution, what about the production? ‘Manufacturing is an issue of course – but so it is with millions of other products that use potentially toxic chemicals in their [production],’ Smith says. ‘When we travel to China to meet suppliers we, along with other European buyers, ask for a reduction in plastic content. This has now been largely but not completely eliminated. Most Chinese firework content and cases are paper-based, and thus biodegradable,’ Culverhouse adds. Eco-friendly fireworks are also slowly hitting the market, using a clean-burning, nitrogen-based fuel. Meanwhile, Battersea Park Fireworks is offsetting the footprint of all its fireworks, ensuring no waste goes to landfill and has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030.
That whole burning-planet thing aside, there are other issues closer to home. People in residential areas are concerned about the impact on pets, noise pollution and the risk of anti-social behaviour. While none of these worries are new, they seem to have blown up thanks to an increase in neighbourly gripes (blame Facebook and Nextdoor) and a rise in fireworks being used as weapons. This year, Glasgow suburb Pollokshields was set to be declared a ‘Firework Control Zone’, banning everything but sparklers until the council missed the legal deadline. More bizarrely, Colchester Rugby Club recently blamed ‘unreasonable pressure from the local equine community’ for its decision to cancel its firework display.
The irony of course, is that this NIMBYism is likely to lead to DIY fireworks displays that are much closer to our actual backyards. ‘As the community firework events dwindle then the use of fireworks and fires just disseminates into the private residential spaces where disturbance and risk is increased,’ says Jones. If we can’t get our pyromaniac kicks at the local park, more and more of us will be trying to affix Catherine wheels onto garden sheds after a few cans and waiting to see what the hell happens (please don’t try this at home).
People talk about drones and lasers but they will never replace fireworks
Culverhouse notes that at-home demand has remained stable even during the cost-of-living crisis. ‘Fireworks are a bit like chocolate,’ he says. ‘Even in the severe economic climate people still want their little luxuries. Maybe they won’t spend the £1500 that one man spent with us today, saying, ‘‘My wife will kill me when she finds out!’’’
But with the public fireworks display up in the air, what are we missing out on aside from a shot of Glen’s Vodka and a taste of gunpowder? For Jones, we’re losing something innately human. ‘We have gathered around fires for a sense of community and storytelling for hundreds of thousands of years,’ he says. ‘At its pinnacle, the art and craft of the firework maker and display designer can create moments of outstanding and awe-inspiring beauty.’
Culverhouse is equally lyrical. ‘There is a primaeval fascination. The Big Bang. It’s as close to The Creation as you can get!’ He’s confident that even though they’re experiencing a downturn right now, it’s not time to give fireworks displays the whole ashes to ashes speech. ‘Fireworks won’t fizzle out,’ he says. ‘People talk about drones and lasers but they will never replace fireworks. They lack the emotional appeal, that chest-thumping moment when the sky erupts in the most awesome, spectacular starburst you've ever seen.’ Beats your dad’s Catherine wheel, any day.
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