Do you miss having to wait for the 1 day a year when you see an organized firework display? Do you miss the rockets, roman candles, comets, crackles, whistles, star bursts? Well Blackpool may have the answer, each September it holds the International Fireworks Championship from Blackpool's Beach.
Each September Blackpool plays host to the International Fireworks Championship. There is a display on the weekend after the Illuminations Switch On. The build-up starts at 7:30pm and the fireworks start at 8:30pm subject to weather conditions. It is staged over the 3 days of the weekend.
Each year 4 countries are represented by their best firework display team. They are given the opportunity to set up huge displays from the Beach. This display is designed by the respective company and choreographed to of a piece of music of their choice.
2009 sees Focus Pyro from France, Rocket Pyrotechnic from Ireland, Vulcan International from China, Lukasser Design Fireworks International from Austria, and finally a Celebration Display by Kimbolton Fireworks. The voting is via text messaging and teh winner will be announced during the Celebration Display.
2008 saw Zink Feuerwerk from Germany, Firemaster Productions from Canada, Forward Fireworks from China and Rocket Fireworks from Ireland compete. With a public text vote to decide the winners. On the last Friday evening in September Kimbolton Fireworks from the United Kingdom will produce a celebration display and the results will be announced. The winner of the 2008 World Fireworks Championship was Forward Fireworks from China.
Gone are the days of lighting the blue touch paper and running, now its another thing that's all done by computers. Well computers will brilliant engineers to program them, and amazing designers to imaging the display in time and space. These days multipoint remote firing increases safety, accuracy, and timing. But without the skill of the technicians this would all add up one big bang and lots of smoke.
The displays usually start with a big build up from a local radio station playing great music and whipping up the crowd between North and Central piers.
Then when this sky is dark and the promenade is lit by the famous Blackpool Illuminations and you thought that Blackpool couldn't get any more colourful, a magical, shooting fountain erupts, followed by a band and off it goes. With multiple rockets firing simultaneously and bursting in perfect synchronization with matching or complementary colors. A spectacular crescendo of colour and sound as giant Chinese "cakes" hypnotize you with crackles, screamers, and comets.
The displays can be seen from Bispham in the North to Squires Gate in the South. Probably the best vantage point is from Central pier looking towards North Pier. The images you see on this page where taken from the headland that is adjacent to South Pier, as you can see you can still have a great viewing location from South Pier. If you are lucky the tide will be in and the reflections of the fireworks in the sea is brilliant.
