Fireworks displays, festivals and competitions

Major fireworks events: Festival of Fireworks at Catton Hall, the National Championships, the Musical Fireworks Championships at Southport, etc.

Major firework displays in the UK were seen not so long ago only as a means of celebrating an occasion. Today there is a selection of events where fireworks are the main feature and it is possible to see three or four firework displays in one evening. Music or other entertainment are the support acts and fireworks are top of the bill - the main attraction.

The National Fireworks Championships set the trend, staged annually in Plymouth. A few years ago the Championships celebrated its 10th anniversary with a Champion of Champions event, won by Jubilee Fireworks. The Musical Fireworks Championships at Southport was founded closely after and the seal was set with the Festival of Fireworks. Still unique in the UK, this event is not a competition but is purely a celebration of fireworks; a demonstration of pyrotechnic skill and artistry on a breathtaking scale.

Seaside resorts and inland visitor attractions too, are making sure that their entertainment programmes include firework displays - sure-fire crowd pleasers and capable of pulling in huge numbers of spectators.

Firework displays have now graduated well beyond Bonfire Night and have earned their own place on the national calendar of entertainments.

UK FESTIVAL OF FIREWORKS: Catton Hall

The Best Fireworks Night in Britain!

After eight hugely succesful years at Shugborough Hall the Festival of Fireworks moved to Catton Hall in south Derbyshire, ideally located in central England.
The Festival is purely fireworks for their own sake. There is no competition, but since companies appear here by invitation it is a matter of pride for them to perform at their best. Hosted and organised by Jubilee fireworks who are themselves double Champion of Champions.

Sat. Sept 1st 2012

FIREWORK CHAMPIONS

4 Spectacular displays all on the same night! Choice of 4 venues! Three of the UK's leading firework companies in a pyromusical competition with a feature finale pyromusical display by hosts MLE Pyrotechnics. Plus lantern launch, real-time SMS voting, bar, food etc.

Stanford Hall, Leic, Aug 4th • Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, Aug 11th • Belvoir Castle, Leics Aug 18th • Eastnor Castle, Herefords Sep 1st 2012

BRITISH FIREWORK CHAMPIONSHIPS

The competition for the National title at Plymouth!

The National Fireworks Championships at Plymouth was the first regular show to feature exclusively fireworks. It remains as the main title for British fireworks companies to achieve.

August 16th & 17th 2011

Southport Musical Fireworks Championships

BRITISH MUSICAL FIREWORKS CHAMPIONSHIPS

PYROTECHNICS SET TO MUSIC AT SOUTHPORT!

Six companies compete over three evenings - but it's not just fireworks. The competitors are judged on their choice of music too, and on how well it is complemented and reflected by their fireworks.

Sept 30th, October 1st,2nd 2011

WORLD FIREWORKS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Blackpool, Lancs.

Top firework companies from around the globe stage pyrotechnic displays, bringing an International flavour to Central Promenade during the opening weeks of Blackpool’s Illuminations season.

Competitors t.b.a.

Fridays 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th Sept. 2012

FIRESHOWS

Adding a new dimension to bonfire and fireworks, fireshows take a theme and explore it with drama, pageantry, music, fireworks and pyrotechnics, and raw fire!

CARLISLE FIRESHOW

Carlisle, Cumbria.

Cumbrian conflagrations! One of the country's major Fireshows - a spectacle of fireworks, pyrotechnics and music set in dramatically themed scenarios.

It's also a free event (collection for local charities) and there is full catering and a funfair for additional entertainment. Bitts Park, Carlisle. Car parking in City Centre. Information line: 01228 817358

Saturday 5th November 2011

STICKLEPATH FIRESHOW

Sticklepath (nr. Okehampton) Devon.

Devonshire deflagrations! The tiny communities in and around Sticklepath and South Zeal, on the edge of Dartmoor, have been staging this ambitious event since the 1980s.

The extensive Sticklepath Fireshow website gives full details of each year's show, together with a comprehensive archive of previous events. Remote but rewarding.

Sat. 5th November 2011

More fireworks displays

The events listed above are the main fireworks competitions and festivals. There are of course, many other displays both individual and series of shows. More seaside resorts are featuring fireworks so it is always worth checking with the relevent Tourist Information Centre. There are many picnic concerts with fireworks as a finale and notable occasions such as the Edinburgh Festival fireworks and the London New Year celebrations.

Please contact us if you would like to see your fireworks show featured here.

Other sources of information about entertainment in the UK include: Free-Events What's On When VisitBritain

International: Fireworks Guide

BUY FIREWORKS

© PT 1996 - All text, graphics and photographs on this website are copyright, and are the property of the editor or used with permission. Reproduction terms are available on request. Unauthorised copying is theft.

Firework Displays, Festivals, Competitions