British Musical Fireworks championships to be held in Southport

The British Musical Fireworks Championship will be held in Southport next week as the town recovers from the trauma of the summer riots.

The tourism team at Sefton Council are busy putting the finishing touches together for the return of the colourful pyrotechnic spectacular at Victoria Park over the two nights from Friday 20th until Saturday 21st September.

Thousands of fireworks fans will be left in awe of the breath-taking pyro-musical displays with three pyrotechnic companies battling it out each night to be crowned champion of the competition.

This year the six competitors will have to wow a trio of new judges. Simon Harding from Sirotechnics, who recently won the ‘Festival d’art pyrotechnique’ in Cannes, Jonathan Finch from Celtic Fireworks and Mike Jones from the Pyro Studio, will look to see which displays impress them the most.

During the competition, over two tonnes of explosive material are used and each show requires around 5 kilometres of wire and at least 15 technicians working for over 12 hours to set up the display. Tickets, which can only be purchased online, start from just £11.83 and children under 5 are FREE but do need an entrance ticket.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, said: "The British Musical Fireworks Championship is the perfect way to round off an incredible summer of events and investment in Southport and Sefton and may well be my personal favourite.

"Having been running for well over 20 years, the Championship is always a hugely popular event and brings in crowds from all corners of the North of England for a unique and stunning experience.

"Businesses tell us that they really benefit from the huge influx of footfall to the town over the weekend and I am looking forward to seeing the quality of displays on show.

“People love all aspects of the show from the music to the array of colour and of course the jaw dropping pyrotechnics.

"If you are thinking of attending please try and get tickets in advance to avoid missing out as tickets sell out!”