British Musical Fireworks Championship  (BMFC) Southport 2024 - Part 1

THIS is part 1 of our coverage of the British Musical Fireworks Championship returned to Victoria Park, Southport over 2 nights of:- Friday, 20 September and Saturday, 21 September 2024. This year the event was scaled down from its usual 3 nights, and tickets were only available in advance, with no gate ticket sales. This might have affected numbers on the Friday night, but what a show it was for all those who went. The weather might not have been sizzling, but the rain held off and the wind was just perfect for fireworks. The 2024 show was truly a colourful, pyrotechnic, musical extravaganza, with all shows fantastically choreographed to the music.

With Southport having such a hard year, many tourism businesses where counting on this event to be a success, so it was fantastic to hear so many people commenting on how amazing it was and that they really want to see it return in 2025.

Talking in advance of the show, 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. People love all aspects of the show, from the music to the array of colour and of course the jaw dropping pyrotechnics!"

So what does it take to put on the displays? All 6 competitors have at least 15 technicians each, and have just 12 hours to set up their displays which they hope will wow the judges. Each night had 3 teams firing up approximately 2 tonnes of explosive material, and using around 5 kilometres of wire per team!

Shooting their colourful pyrotechnics and lighting up the sky on Friday where:-

• Electrify Pyrotechnics, Lighting & PA Hire.
  

• Bright Sparks Fireworks.
  

• Xplosive Fireworks.

Then on Saturday we had:-

• Dynamite Fireworks Ltd.
  

• The Art of Sparks.
  

• Fully Fused Ffused.

This year the judges were:-

• Simon Harding from Sirotechnics, who recently won the:- 'Festival d'art pyrotechnique' in Cannes.
  

• Jonathan Finch from Celtic Fireworks.
  

• Mike Jones from the Pyro Studio.

As with all competitions it requires a winner and this year the winner was:- Bright Sparks Fireworks, with 2nd place going to:- Dynamite Fireworks LTD, and 3rd place being given to:- Xplosive Events.

But it was not just the fireworks to kept people entertained, with a band and a singer performing on Friday, as the clocked ticked down to start of the displays and on Saturday, the fantastic Katumba carnival band also got kept the crowds entertained as the dusk set in.

Plus some fantastic local businesses offered a wide range of activities,:- with food stands, drink stands, children's inflatables, glitter and face painting, plus more... It was definitely a good night out for the family.

After the event Sefton Council said:- "A huge thank you to all of our firework companies for 6 incredible displays, as well as to everyone who attended; what a fantastic weekend it's been!"

So what did you think of this years events? Did you enjoy the displays? Who was your top team?  Please do email your thoughts to our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com, or send us a message on:- Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter.

We will have lots more in Part 2 including video of the event. For now please enjoy the photo on this page and on the following page. For more information on the next competition to be held in 2025, please visit the following 2 websites:- Facebook and VisitsSouthport.Com.