Our main supplier (Celtic Fireworks) has just posted some photos from their recent visit to the fireworks factories in Liuyang, China.
The main photo (above) shows people working on some large fanned cakes. They’re at the final stages of making these 80, 100, and even some 240 shot cakes. Each tube you can see here has a single firework inside. These are glued into rows, and the rows then glued together into blocks or “cakes” of different combinations. A series of fuses runs between each tube and each row so that the effects all fire in sequence.
Packing small stage fountains ready for despatch
Some of these cakes are so large and powerful that they can only be fired by professional companies. These “Category 4” products will feature in the amazing displays fired by our sister company (Electrify). The smaller (“Category 3”) fireworks are sold through our on-line shop
Celtic are now the leading supplier of fireworks to the UK, and we are so lucky to be based on the same storage site as them. It means that we are always up to date with their current stock, and can even get items from them at short notice. Our record is 3 minutes – a phone call, a short trip across the site, collect, pack, and send it out for delivery!
We hate raising the prices of our fireworks. We set up Peak Fireworks to sell you the best quality fireworks at the best possible price. And we have held most of our prices for the last few years.
But this year, we don’t really have a choice. This is for three main reasons:
The manufacture of fireworks has become more expensive. Prices at the factory gate have typically gone up by 10-20% recently
Our fireworks come from China. And the cost of getting them to the UK by container ship has gone up by 300%. Yes. 300%!
Our other costs, including insurance, transport within the UK, office and IT, etc have also gone up.
So, we’re really sorry but you will find our prices have had to go up.
But we have kept our FREE local delivery for all orders over £30
Our only other option would be to offer you cheaper, lower-quality fireworks. And we don’t believe you want that.
Some people are asking us about silent fireworks. They either want to buy them for themselves or encourage other people to use them in their displays.
We understand this. The world is a noisy place. Some people and animals are scared of loud noises. And we know that there are lots of fireworks where the visual effect is beautiful.
But there are some misunderstandings here.
The first is that there is no such thing as silent fireworks. All fireworks have to make a noise if they are going to work. The simplest ground firework will hiss, or sparkle, or crackle, or pop. Even a sparkler makes a noise.
And any firework which needs to get up into the sky is going to make more noise. It needs a small explosion (from at least some gunpowder) to get it into the sky at all. A rocket will have to whoosh. A small cake will have to pop each time it sends an effect upwards. A bigger cake will have to go bang. A mortar (in a professional display) will have to give out that heavy thump to launch.
And you cannot have an effect in the sky (a quiet crossette, a louder burst, or a huge flower-shape) without some noise.
So nobody can make or sell silent fireworks. The best you will find are low-noise fireworks.
Some of our customers love loud fireworks. Others don’t. Most want a mixture.
That’s why every product in our on-line store has a noise level in its description. They range from the quietest to the loudest with plenty in between.
Go for level 1 or 2 if you want to limit the noise. Go for 4 or 5 if you want to make a noise (but please tell your neighbours first, and always be considerate about animals).
Just don’t expect anyone to sell or use silent fireworks.
Here at Peak Fireworks we know how difficult it can be to choose the right fireworks for your garden. Here are 6 key questions to ask yourself
Quality or Quantity?
Go for quality not quantity. With fireworks, like everything else, you get what you pay for. You will do better to have fewer fireworks of high quality than a box full of disappointment.
Where should I buy them?
Avoid the supermarkets. They’re fine for baked beans and bin bags. But they know nothing about fireworks, and they only stock the cheapest fireworks from the factories’ budget lines.
Only use a licensed supplier. Never buy fireworks from Barry’s mate down the pub. They won’t be licensed. They won’t be insured. You don’t know where they came from or if they are safe. It simply isn’t worth the risk.
How big is the space I am going to use?
All fireworks need you to stand back when they go off. The smallest ones (like those in selection boxes) typically need about 5m. That’s 6 or 7 decent paces.
The next size up need 8m or more. This is because the effects are larger. The fireworks go higher. And in the unlikely event that something goes wrong with the firework you should still be safe.
The largest fireworks on sale to the public need a safety distance of at least 25m.
Are there any obstacles in the garden?
Don’t light fireworks under trees or overhanging wires. Remember that some fireworks go off at an angle, so give them plenty of room. And don’t light them too near a shed or a building.
Should I tell my neighbours?
It’s always polite to tell your neighbours that you are having a firework display. They may want to stay inside with pets. Or to watch your display. Or even to join in.
How much noise can I make?
We ask all our customers to consider their neighbours when planning a display. All our fireworks have a noise rating of 1-5. Low noise products can be just as spectacular, and will make sure you don’t disturb pets or nervous neighbours.
Can I include rockets?
Yes of course. They are spectacular and most people love them. But remember that the stick will come down somewhere so be thoughtful. And please don’t use them at all if it is too windy – it’s hard to know which direction they will go in.
Some firework companies (including Peak Fireworks) are open all year round. Even when the office is shut you can leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
But the traditional times for fireworks in the UK are Bonfire Night (November the 5th) and New Year’s Eve (December 31st). You may also want some for the movable festivals at Chinese New Year and Divali. So you will find other shops that open just for these periods. They have to buy a licence from their Local Authority, which will allow them to sell fireworks between:-
October 15th and November 10th and 26th December to 31st December. 3 days before Chinese New Year and Divali.
If you have trouble finding a shop in your local area, try to find someone selling on line. But remember they will not be able to send fireworks to you by ordinary post, and it is very expensive to send them by courier. So you will always be better off finding a local supplier. The best search term to use in Google is “Fireworks near me”.
The majority of fireworks sold in the UK are made in Liuyang – a large city in the Hunan Province. It is about 800km South of Beijing, and 650km North of Hong Kong.
The city contains hundreds of small workshops, medium-sized units and large factory complexes. Many of them make small components for fireworks (just the fuses or the cardboard tubes, for example) while the biggest make a full range of domestic and professional grade fireworks which are shipped all over the world.
Some people believe that fireworks were even invented in Liuyang in the 2nd Century BC when people discovered that sections of bamboo would burst loudly when thrown into a fire. 300 years later the Chinese invented gunpowder and found that when this was packed into those same sections of bamboo the effect was even more explosive. It is no surprise, then, that the artisans of Liuyang still make the majority of the world’s fireworks. And while there are excellent manufacturers in Japan, Malta, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, South America, and many other countries, the chances are that any firework you buy in the UK will have been made in Liuyang.
This is a question we get asked a lot. And it’s tempting to reply, “As much as you want to spend.”
It’s just that there are so many things that can count as “a fireworks display”. Do you want a few rockets and a Catherine wheel in your back garden? Do you want to celebrate a wedding with a beautiful display for a hundred guests? Or do you want to light up Sydney Harbour Bridge at New Year’s Eve?
Let’s look at each of these in turn.
Garden Displays
Photo: Mike Harrington (Getty)
A small garden display can cost you anything from a few pounds upwards. Most fireworks companies will sell you what you need – either by letting you pick individual products or putting together a prepared package. These are often excellent value, and at Peak Fireworks we make sure that the products are right for the size of your garden. Our complete small garden displayis less than £50 for example, and is designed for a garden 8 or more metres long. This is so that you and your family can be far enough away from the fireworks when they are lit.
Or we have a medium-sized display for less than £100 (which needs up to 25m safety distance to keep you safe). Any reputable firework supplier will talk you through the products in your display to make sure they are suitable for your garden. They will also help you to choose quieter fireworks if that is important for you and your neighbours.
A wedding display, or any big celebration, will probably need something special. Our large displaymight do the trick. It is £250 and needs at least 25m. We can customise it to match your colour choices.
You will need someone confident, reliable, safe (and sober) to light your fireworks for you. We can talk them through the process. They will need to clear everything up afterwards too (a dirty job, which they might not appreciate if they have got dressed up for the occasion). And your party venue may require you to have insurance in case you damage anything (or anybody) on the night.
2. Professional displays
Photo: Rob Watling (Author)
Professional pyrotechnicians are brilliant. And they are the right choice if you want something spectacular for your special event. They will do everything for you. And I mean everything. They will liaise with the venue, choose the safest firing site, do a full risk assessment, arrange the insurance, and advise you who needs to know about the display. They will design it, prepare it for firing, set everything up safely, tell the audience where to stand, fire it at the right time, and clear up the whole site. They can use professional grade fireworks (not available to the general public) which will be timed to perfection, choreographed to music if you want, and with added extras like lights and lasers.
Photo: Rob Watling (Author)
How much will the professionals charge? You should expect to pay a minimum of £100 a minute for your display, and allow at least 7 minutes to make it look spectacular. If you want your display timed to go with music, allow an extra £400 – £1000. This is because of the huge amount of work that goes into designing and fusing such a show, the computers and sound equipment that will be used, and the extra crew that will be needed on the night. So a 7 minute pyromusical display will be about £1200, a 10 minute display will be about £2000, and a full-scale, no-holds-barred extravaganza will be about £2700.
These are based on the services of our friends and partners at Electrify– one of the best and friendliest display companies in the UK. You may find a company who will beat these prices. But, if we’re honest, they will only do this by cutting corners. They may use cheaper, less-spectacular fireworks. They may not be insured. They may not pay their crew. They may use inferior technology or low-powered music systems. But there will be a reason – and they will not tell you what it is. In fireworks, like everything else, you get what you pay for. And if it’s a special occasion, do you really want to risk people being disappointed?
3. The massive displays
Photo Jason Tong (Flickr)
And finally, what about the great big events that you go to on Bonfire Night or New Year’s Eve, attended by tens or hundreds of thousands of people?
Well the prices for these can be eye-watering. Several thousand pounds is a typical bill for a civic display in a local park. It can be up to 5 figures for the bigger events in cities. And it will definitely be more – much more – for the national celebrations at New Year, the Olympics, or the great political moments.
These events have massive extra costs for publicity, security, additional entertainment, long set-up times, road closures, helicopter TV coverage, clearing up, insurance and so on and so on. The full cost of the London New Year’s Eve displays has been over £1million each year since 2003, and has risen to over £2million recently. The one in Sydney costs almost twice as much. These are not even the biggest in the world. The display in Dubai on New Year’s Eve 2014 is reported to have cost $6million and the one in Abu Dhabi in 2009 lasted for nearly an hour and cost $20million
So until you have that amount of money, it’s probably best to organise your own display in the back garden, or call in the professionals to do it for you at your next celebration.
We’d be happy to help you plan anything. But probably not the Sydney Harbour Bridge just yet.
Chinese New Year, Feb 12th. It’s the year of the Ox and there’ll be plenty of fireworks going off around the world to celebrate. If you want to join in, please do so within the COVID guidelines for your area.
And tell your neighbours, as they may not be expecting it. Peak Fireworks of Nottingham, and some other suppliers around the country, have some special New Years offers. And we offer free local delivery. And, of course, all our fireworks are made in China! See peakfireworks.co.uk for details.
And, just so you know… Chinese New Year is one of the four days of the year when fireworks can be let off after 23:00. These days are November 5th (when the limit is 24:00) and Chinese New Year, New Year’s Eve and Divali (when the limit is 01:00)
There won’t be many public firework displays this November due to the COVID restrictions. Which means more people will be having small firework parties in their own gardens. (Subject to the local regulations where they live).
If you are planning such a party please be considerate to your neighbours. Don’t just buy the biggest loudest fireworks you can. There are plenty of smaller, beautiful ones which won’t rattle the windows.
Ask your supplier for advice on how loud any firework will be.
Please tell your neighbours when you are going to have your party. They may like to watch. They may want to stay indoors. They may want to look after their pets. (There is plenty of advice online about how to help nervous animals to cope with loud noises of any kind).
And most importantly, be safe. Don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Follow the firework code, and get to the end of the evening without any mishaps.
