Fireworks display company, or a complete display pack you fire yourself?
If you've searched for a fireworks display company, or someone to hire to fire a display, you've probably found two very different options online: professional firing companies who design and operate a show for you, and complete display packs you set off yourself. Here's how to tell which one you need, and what to check if you go with a professional firm.
What we do, and what we don't
We're a retailer. We sell consumer fireworks and complete display packs, and we're happy to help with product choice, firing order and quantities for the fireworks you buy from us. What we don't do is design a bespoke show for your venue, sync fireworks to music, programme a show file, or send someone to fire your display. If that's what you need, a professional fireworks display company is the right call, not a fireworks shop.
Hiring a professional fireworks display company: what to check
A genuine firework display company should be straightforward about all of the following. If a firm is vague on any of these, keep looking.
- BPA membership. The British Pyrotechnists Association is the UK trade body for professional display firms. Membership isn't a legal requirement, but it's a reasonable signal that a company works to recognised industry standards and has been vetted by peers in the trade.
- Public liability insurance. Ask to see the certificate itself, rather than taking a mention of it on trust. A professional display firm should carry public liability cover appropriate to the size of your event, and should be willing to name the figure.
- Licensing and specialist knowledge. A professional firework display normally uses category F4 fireworks, which can only legally be supplied to a person with specialist knowledge, and storing them needs an explosives licence. Ask directly how the firm qualifies on both counts, and how long they've been firing shows.
- References and past shows. A firm with a genuine track record should be able to point you to previous displays, ideally similar in scale to yours, and put you in touch with past clients.
- A written risk assessment. For any event with an audience, a proper firing company will produce a site-specific risk assessment and method statement before the display, covering safety distances, fallout zones and weather contingencies.
Get quotes from two or three firms. Be wary of anyone who can't answer the above without checking.
When a complete display pack is the better answer
Plenty of people searching for a fireworks display company just want a good show. Not necessarily someone else to run it. If that's you, a complete display pack is cheaper, ready to buy today rather than booked weeks out, and yours to time however you like on the night. Each of our complete display packs is pre-planned with a suggested firing order, so you're not guessing which firework goes when. Packs like the Hercules Bag, Dragon Storm Pack and Legends of Olympus cover everything from a garden-scale show to a longer evening display, and you light them yourself, on your own schedule.
If none of the packs is quite right, the display builder plans a display to your own budget from the fireworks we have in stock, with a printable firing sheet, and you can swap anything you don't fancy before you buy.
There is a trade-off. A complete display pack needs someone comfortable and confident setting off consumer fireworks safely, following the safety distances on the box. It's not a substitute for a professional firing company running a large public event. But for a private garden, birthday or family celebration, it's usually the "professional-looking" show people are after in the first place.
Which one do you need?
Hiring a professional fireworks display company makes sense for large public events, corporate shows, or anywhere you need a professional firing company physically running the display. A complete display pack makes sense for private displays, gardens, birthdays and family celebrations, where you want a properly planned show without booking a firm. Browse our full range of complete display packs to see what's available, or build your own display to your budget.
