The British Firework Championships or National Firework Championships is an annual
competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
held in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, every August where judges review
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
displays from professional fireworks companies and select the best examples.
It is watched by more than 200,000 people.
History
The competition was first held in 1997. Competitors set up their displays on the
Mount Batten Breakwater which is closed to the public for the duration of the competition. The competition rules place restrictions on budget, duration and amount of ordinance that can be used for each display.
As part of the event's tenth anniversary in 2006, eight prior winners were invited to take part in a Champion of Champions competition. A lecturer from the
University of Plymouth, Roy Lowry, attempted to break the world record of the highest number of rockets fired simultaneously with 55,000.
In 2012, no winner was declared due to bad weather in Plymouth. The 2013 event was a 'Champion of Champions' with the six previous winners being invited. This was postponed from 2012.
being crowned Champion of Champions.
2019 was expected to be a 'Champion of Champions' event, but only two of the winning companies from the 2013 - 2018 competitions accepted to take part.
Due to concerns about managing social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled in 2020.
Winners
*1997:
Fantastic Fireworks
*1998: Northern Lights Fireworks
*1999: Happy Dragon Fireworks
*2000: Pyro 1
*2001: Shellscape Pyrotechnics
*2002: Shellscape Pyrotechnics (second win)
*2003: Jubilee Fireworks
*2004: Alan Hillary Pyrotechnics now
Reaction Fireworks
*2005: MLE Pyrotechnics
*2006, Champion of Champions winner: Jubilee Fireworks (second win)
*2007: Selstar Fireworks
*2008: Pendragon Fireworks
*2009: Phoenix Fireworks
*2010:
Star Fireworks
*2011: MLE Pyrotechnics (second win)
*2012: No winner declared due to bad weather.
*2013, Champion of Champions winner:
Star Fireworks (second win)
*2014: Blitz Fireworks
*2015:
Fantastic Fireworks (second win)
*2016: Gala Fireworks
*2017: Selstar Fireworks (second win)
*2018
Illusion Fireworks*2019: 1st Galaxy Fireworks were named as the 2019 winners and Selstar were named as The Champion of Champions.
*2020: ''N/A''
*2021: Aurora Fireworks Ltd
*2022: sonic fireworks
References
External links
British Firework Championships
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Fireworks competitions
Plymouth, Devon
Festivals in Devon
Competitions in the United Kingdom
1997 establishments in England
Recurring events established in 1997
Annual events in the United Kingdom
National championships in the United Kingdom