The Epsom Firework Display has been running since 1971, and its 51st breathtaking display ran on Bonfire Night 2022 and did not disappoint.
Bonfire Night runs every year in the UK on the 5th of November; a tribute to Catholic leader Robert Catesby’s unsuccessful gunpowder plot in 1605, which was an attempt to blow up the British Houses of Parliament, and therefore assassinating King James I to put an end to the many years of Catholic persecution. Around the UK, fireworks displays are held more or less everywhere to commemorate this historical moment and Epsom’s display was no less thrilling to any other.
The Event ran on Hook Road Arena in Epsom, Surrey, which began as a funfair, being able to purchase a variety of drinks and refreshments, which go towards raising money for children’s charities. In the arena, you could see the things you would normally expect at a regular fair: food stalls, sideshows, and merchandise salespeople. The activities which really caught your eye were the utterly extreme rides which were in operation, including a 40m tall thrill ride – a ride which took the similar shape of a wind turbine with 2 blades, a passenger area at the end of each, which upon working and running, would be hurled in the air at high velocity, its glaring lights flashing on and off the entire time. Away from the intensity, there were a lot of carnival games and sweet stalls, all running in front of an immense microphone which would announce the start of the fireworks very shortly.
At 7:30, people started to gather around the area of the microphone and prepare for the start of the firework display, obviously a distance from the launching equipment. A quick, rather anti-climactic countdown, and hundreds of fireworks launched into the air, coiling, and scattering across the sky, with the occasional larger explosions at the beat drops of the choregraphed music. The show lasted around 18 minutes before being warmly applauded and the fair music began to take its place again.
Rated as one of the top class firework displays in South London, this is certainly the most entertaining firework event I have attended.
