TOP 10 WORLD RECORDS IN PYROTECHNICS

Here in the UK annually on November the 5th we are all aware that bonfire night is known for remembering Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators, the gunpowder plot and yeah, of course, you have guessed it fireworks.

Bonfire night, otherwise known as Guy Fawkes night or fireworks night has become synonymous with the setting off fireworks on this date to remember, remember the 5th of November as the day the gunpowder plot was foiled, and king James and hundreds were saved from being killed.

Fireworks were not originally a part of the celebrations, but they grew in popularity and as pyrotechnics became more widely available in the early 19th century, they became the mainstay of the celebrations. Nowadays, thousands each year celebrate with parties and fireworks of their own or attend an organised event at a local pub or club. Here’s a quick look into the Guinness World Records set in recent years. Here are the top 10 biggest and most explosive records achieved to date:

1. THE LONGEST EVER FIREWORKS WATERFALL

This waterfall was ignited on the 23rd August 2008 at the Ariake Seas Fireworks Festival I Fukuoka, Japan. On completion, the waterfall effect was 3,517.23 m 11,539ft 5 inches and was based on and given the name….. you guessed it Niagara Falls. After this there was a huge shell sent above just to mark the occasion.

2. MOST FIREWORKS LAUNCHED FROM A PYROTECHNIC SUIT

The daring man who gained this title is known as Mazuel Laurent Nat in Grenoble France on 13th June 2014. The total was 642 individual fireworks launched. Of course, our very own friend and mad inventor Colin Furze created his own ‘safety suit’ which was on display in our showroom until very recently.

3. LARGEST CATHERINE WHEEL

Measuring in at 32.044m (105ft 1.56in) the great wheel was made and constructed by Lilly Fireworks Factory in Mqabba, Malta on the 18th June 2011. It was freestanding and when it was lit and managed to do 4 revolutions under its own propulsion - a supersized spectacular for all to see.

4. THE FIRST EVER MULTI-SENSORY DISPLAY

This was achieved in London 2013 – 2014 new year's eve display, the first of its kind with over 50,000 spectators not only seeing the different coloured fireworks but also been able to smell and taste fruity flavours from them. There was peach snow, apple, cherry and strawberry mist and scratch and sniff handouts created by food scientists Bompas and Parr There was a great response from everyone about the colours and flavours of each one including the edible banana confetti.

5. LARGEST SPARKLER CANDLE

Another record was smashed in New Year’s eve 2015 in Kiev, Ukraine by 28 year old Yuriy Yaniv. He made the largest sparkler candle ever. The monster candle consisted of 10,000 sparklers bound together in a ceramic pot filled with cardboard, dirt and kitchen foil. The weight of the sparkler candle was 50kg (110 pounds) and once lit the sparks created a giant tower covering 2m.

The number of sparklers used in the project if lit individually would have burned for around 48 hours nonstop. Now that is what we call a mammoth sparkler!!

6. THE LARGEST FIREWORK DISPLAY

Even in the rain, there was no stopping the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ in the Philippines), enjoying the largest fireworks display during the countdown to the 2016 New Year Celebrations. It was here, on 1 January 2016, using over 810,000 fireworks and lasting 1 hour 1 min and 32.35 seconds this New Year’s Eve party went on in epic style. This was not the only record they smashed that night as they also picked up one for the most sparklers lit simultaneously (938) and the longest line of lit sparklers (891).

7. LARGEST FIREWORK MAP OF THE WORLD

This had to be one for the pyrotechnicians due to the sheer volume of pyro, distances and the size of the operation. The World Island resort in Dubai shows a map of the world from the manmade islands. The fireworks were positioned strategically to ensure that each of the land masses making up the earth were shown perfectly with the light of the fireworks.

8. MOST FIREWORK SHELLS LAUNCHED PER MINUTE

On the same evening in Dubai there were even more extravagant effects to be had when the New Year celebrations got underway as they firmly established themselves as the biggest and best as 479,651 shells were fired in just 6 minutes which equates to 79,941 fireworks per minute putting them into the record books.

9. HIGHEST FIREWORKS ON A BUILDING

Again, the award goes to Dubai and the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

This display was a winner from the outset being stages from the World’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. The fireworks display erupted from all sides and top of the building with more than 1.6 tonnes of fireworks released in under 10 minutes.

10. LARGEST AERIAL FIREWORK SHELL

The gargantuan shell was fired from a mortar tube and reached a height of around 2975 feet and measured 2454 feet in diameter. It was fired on the 9th September 2014 and was launched at the Japanese Katakai-Matsuri Festival in Honshu, Japan.

Annually nowadays, there is a festival which still continues to strive for excellence in the field of super-sized shells.

So there you have it, some of the biggest and best in the World today but they all have one thing in common, they are all pyro lovers.