10 Fun Facts About Fireworks You Probably Didn’t Know
Looking for some fun facts about fireworks? Fireworks have been lighting up celebrations for more than 1,000 years, but there’s far more to them than colourful explosions in the night sky.
From their accidental origins in ancient China to the surprising science behind blue fireworks, here are ten interesting facts about fireworks that you may not know.
1. Fireworks originated in China more than 1,000 years ago
The story of fireworks begins in China, where early forms of gunpowder were being developed by around the ninth century.
Chinese alchemists experimenting with substances including saltpetre and sulphur discovered mixtures that burned with extraordinary intensity. By around AD 1000, the Chinese were using gunpowder-like mixtures in early rockets and firecrackers.
What began as experimentation eventually developed into both military technology and entertainment.
2. The earliest fireworks weren’t particularly colourful
Today’s displays can fill the sky with red, green, gold, purple and blue, but early fireworks were much simpler.
Traditional gunpowder produces flashes, sparks and smoke rather than the huge variety of colours we associate with modern displays.
The development of coloured fireworks came much later, as firework makers discovered how different chemical compounds could be used to create different colours.
3. Firework colours are created by chemistry
Those spectacular colours aren’t produced by dyes or coloured powder.
Different chemical compounds emit characteristic colours when heated. Strontium compounds can be used to create red, barium compounds green and copper compounds blue.
The result is essentially a carefully controlled chemical reaction taking place hundreds of feet above the audience.
4. Blue is one of the hardest firework colours to create
There is a reason deep blue fireworks can be particularly impressive.
Producing a strong blue requires copper compounds to reach the right temperature. Too cool and the colour isn’t sufficiently bright; too hot and the compounds responsible for the blue colour begin to break down.
It makes a really vivid blue one of the more challenging colours for pyrotechnicians to achieve.
5. Fireworks have been part of Bonfire Night celebrations for centuries
Bonfire Night dates back to the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a group of conspirators planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament.
Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords on the night of 4 November.
Parliament subsequently passed the Thanksgiving Act in 1606, establishing 5 November as an annual day of commemoration. Bonfires became part of the tradition and fireworks featured in some of the earliest celebrations.
More than four centuries later, 5 November remains one of Britain’s best-known nights for fireworks.
6. Guy Fawkes wasn’t actually the mastermind of the Gunpowder Plot
His is the name everybody remembers, but Guy Fawkes did not devise the plot.
That role belonged principally to Robert Catesby, who proposed the plan to destroy the King and Parliament.
Fawkes had military experience and was recruited for his knowledge of gunpowder. His enduring fame largely comes from being the conspirator who was caught with the explosives.
7. The Japanese word for fireworks means “fire flowers”
Fireworks have a particularly important place in Japanese summer culture, where spectacular displays attract enormous crowds.
The Japanese word hanabi combines the characters for fire and flower, so is commonly translated as “fire flower”.
It’s a wonderfully accurate description of the huge blooms of colour created by an aerial firework.
8. Sparklers are much hotter than they look
They may be one of the smallest and most familiar forms of firework, but sparklers should never be regarded as harmless.
The London Fire Brigade warns that they burn at fierce temperatures comparable to a welding torch. It advises that sparklers should never be given to children under five and that used sparklers should be placed immediately into a bucket of cold water.
Something worth remembering when the sparklers come out at a party.
9. Professional firework displays are carefully choreographed
A major modern display is a long way from simply lighting a series of rockets.
Professional pyrotechnicians can choreograph fireworks to music, controlling precisely when individual effects launch and burst. Different heights, colours, shapes and timings are combined to create a display in much the same way that lighting and music are used to create atmosphere inside an event venue.
The best displays are effectively performances in the sky.
10. Fireworks aren’t just for Bonfire Night
In Britain we tend to associate fireworks most strongly with 5 November and New Year’s Eve, but around the world they form part of celebrations throughout the year.
They appear at weddings, festivals, sporting occasions, national celebrations and major public events. In the UK they are also associated with celebrations including Diwali and Chinese New Year.
For event organisers, fireworks can provide a spectacular finale, although venue restrictions, licensing, noise, safety, neighbouring properties and the surrounding environment all need to be considered before planning a display.
Planning an Event with a Spectacular Finale?
Fireworks can turn a corporate celebration, awards evening or private event into something memorable, but not every London venue can accommodate them.
If you’re planning an event and would like an outdoor space, riverside venue, rooftop or unusual London venue with real wow factor, tell us what you have in mind. We’ll help you find the right venue, completely free.