How To Organise a Fireworks Display

Plan ahead

So, our friend Dale Carnegie said that 10 hours of planning is crucial. 

But what do you actually need to plan for a fireworks display?

Well, the first thing is to decide who in your team will be responsible for things like safety arrangements, venue sourcing, securing fireworks, marketing, event listing and promotion.

From there, you’ve got a clear idea of where you’re going. Write down who is responsible for what and if you can, bring in someone with experience in this field. Their knowledge will be invaluable.

Whoever is in charge of safety will be responsible for informing the local authorities – police, council and fire services about things like entry and exit points. 

The fire service and local council will be able to give you advice on storage arrangements, duties under health & safety legislation and whether you’ll need a Temporary Event Notice.

You’ll also need Public Liability Insurance and you’ll need to check the insurance of any contractors you are using for the event.

Think about your venue

Like a seasoned explorer, it’s time to scout out the perfect location for your fireworks event.

The location you choose depends on one thing: the size of your event.

If you’re planning on hosting thousands of people, you’ll need somewhere like a local park. You’ll need to liaise with the council for permission to use the site.

Research local areas that would be viable for an event like this. Think to yourself: Is there enough space to create a distance between attendees and your fireworks? Does the site have any potential obstructions, like overhead power lines or other buildings close by? What direction does the wind travel, and how could this potentially affect your event?

There should be a minimum of 50m distance between attendees and the area where the fireworks will be lit. The main areas to be aware of are as follows:

• Spectator Area – An area for attendees to prevent overcrowding.
• Safety Area – A clear area between spectators and the firing area.
• Firing Area – The location where the fireworks are set off.
• Fall Out Area – The area where the debris from the fireworks lands.
• Bonfire Area – An area for a bonfire (if you’re hosting a bonfire and fireworks)

Source your fireworks

Next up? Sourcing your fireworks. 

Before you buy, consider the size of your event. Fireworks fall under two categories – Professional and consumer. 

Professional fireworks can be suited to large-scale events where thousands of people will be in attendance. With these fireworks, a display team would provide, store, set up and clean up the fireworks after the event. 

Consumer fireworks can be suited to smaller-scale events where there are fewer people in attendance. Here, you and your team would be responsible for buying, storing, organising insurance, training and clearing the fireworks after the display. 

Research the costs involved with both and make your decision. It’s important to consider that certain categories of fireworks can only be handled by professionals, so going down this route will give you a more expansive display. 

Whichever route you go down, always make sure you buy your fireworks from a reputable source. 

Create a Health & Safety plan

So, you’ve got a plan, sourced a venue and your fireworks are on the way. 

What’s the fourth step? Creating a Health & Safety plan. 

Here, mark out how the location of your event will be used. Draw out the spectator, firing, safety and fall-out areas, noting the distance between each one. 

Then, make a plan for stewards. There should be no fewer than 2 stewards for up to 500 people plus 1 for each additional 250 people expected to attend. Source fluorescent jackets, torches, and any other equipment your stewards will need and brief them on what they will need to do on the night.

Decide what will happen in case of emergencies and who will take charge should they happen. Emergencies could be having to cancel the event due to adverse weather, attendees breaking through barriers into fire or fall-out areas and disorderly behaviours. 

Ensure you have two-way radios so your team and stewards can communicate with each other. 

Finally, Decide who will be responsible for lighting the fireworks. If you are hiring a professional display, this will be someone from the company. Otherwise, the person lighting the fireworks will need training. That’s why it’s advisable to hire someone with experience on your team.

List and promote your fireworks event

Now that you’ve got everything in order, it’s time to make your event a reality by listing, promoting and selling tickets!

This is where we come in. Signing up to the Skiddle Promotion Centre is 100% free, allowing you to sell tickets for your event and use our market-leading features.

Listing your event with a reputable provider instantly gives your event more credibility. Customers recognise our name, so using our platform will build trust with your customers. 

Plus, you can benefit from using our features. Our scanning solution, RapidScan, can be downloaded on iOS and Android. It scans a ticket per second, performs fraud checks on tickets and gives you real-time information on who has and hasn’t entered the venue. 

Having this information provides another layer when it comes to keeping people safe, and if you’re organising a large-scale fireworks display, this will be crucial. 

Our Bonfire Night Toolkit has all the information you need when it comes to our features. Read it here. 

Ready to kickstart your promotion? Head to Skiddle’s Promotion Centre today and let us help you sell tickets faster and smarter.