Star Fireworks
| Formerly | Bracknell Fireworks |
|---|---|
| Industry | manufacturing |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Bracknell, Berkshire, England |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Products | Professional firework displays and the sale of retail fireworks |
Star Fireworks is a British company that stages professional fireworks displays and special effects for events. It specializes in providing choreographed firework sequences for film and television use. It was formed in 1971. It was known as Bracknell Fireworks until the name of the company was changed in 2005. Its main offices are in Bracknell, Berkshire.
Notable clients[edit]
Star Fireworks has become well known for its fireworks and special effects for the UK version of the reality television show Big Brother.[1][2] It has fired finale fireworks for every Big Brother series at Elstree Studios since 2002.
Awards[edit]
In 2013, Star Fireworks won the British Firework Championships Champion of Champions competition in Plymouth, Devon, in which previous winners from the past six years are invited to compete.[3] The company was also crowned British Champions in 2010. In 2008, they won the British Firework Championships Northern heat in Salford, Greater Manchester and placed second in the main competition.[4] The company has also won or been runner-up in various other UK firework competitions.
Professional memberships and associations[edit]
Star Fireworks are members of the British Pyrotechnists Association (BPA).[5] The company directors are Members of the Institute of Explosives Engineers.
Representation of the UK fireworks industry[edit]
Company staff are noted for their heavy involvement in representing the UK professional fireworks display industry in the UK and in Europe. Andy Hubble, a director of Star Fireworks, has acted as a consultant and media representative to the British Government's former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), on its firework safety campaign, from 1995 to 2005.[6][7] He chaired the British Pyrotechnists Association from 2008 to 2010 and a second term from 2013 to 2016, with a third term from 2020 to 2023, sitting on various Government committees concerning professional fireworks and explosives safety and control in the UK. Andy has sat on the Council of the Institute of Explosives Engineers since 2016.[8] He has represented UK interests as part of a multi-national team producing harmonized firework regulations across the EU sitting on the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee for Category 4 Fireworks (professional fireworks). He is also a regular columnist for Fireworks (magazine) magazine[9] and the Journal of the Institute of Explosives Engineers.[10]
In 2013 Star Fireworks took action when changes in the European Pyrotechnic Directive threatened their business and others with closure, gaining the support of local Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Phillip Lee and the Consumer Affairs Minister Jo Swinson MP who, with the industry, found a solution to the problem.[11][12]
References[edit]
- ^ Bracknell News
- ^ LSi Online - Big Brother Finale
- ^ British Firework Championships 2013 Official Result
- ^ British Firework Championships - Previous Winners
- ^ British Pyrotechnists Association - List of Full Members of the BPA
- ^ Department of Trade and Industry news release 2001
- ^ Department of Trade an Industry broadcast advisory note 2005
- ^ Institute of Explosives Engineers Directors and Council Members
- ^ Fireworks Magazine with list of current writers
- ^ "About The Journal - Institute of Explosives Engineers". iexpe.org. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017.
- ^ Sudden EU law change could leave popular firework firm facing closure - Reading Post
- ^ Popular fireworks firm saved after EU law change dismissed - Reading Post