The addition of a musical accompaniment to the 2023 edition of Bradley Stoke Town Council’s annual fireworks display has been hailed as a great success.
The event, which took place at the Jubilee Centre on Sunday 5th November, featured traditional (loud) fireworks rather than the ‘low noise’ variety which had been trialled, to mixed reviews, two years ago.
Councillors had previously agreed to increase the budget for the event by £2,000 to cover the costs of providing the musical accompaniment, split between the fireworks company and the sound system provider.
A report prepared for a meeting of Full Council on 15th November stated:
“This year’s Firework Display was an amazing event with the rain holding off until the event had finished. The setting of the fireworks to music (with a movie theme) was the finishing touch. So much positive feedback has been received with many people saying it is the best fireworks display they have attended. It was lovely to see so many residents of the town gathering to enjoy the free event.”
In contrast to most other local displays, the Bradley Stoke event is free to attend, with bucket collections being made for the mayor’s charities. This year’s collection raised £3,508 (including £490 donated by traders) for Prostate Cancer UK, The Brightwell and Mamas Bristol.
This year’s charity donation total is an improvement on last year’s lowly figure of £2,834, which may be down to the introduction of a contactless donate-by-phone facility which brought in £569. However, the amount raised is still well below the figures of £4,000+ achieved in several years prior to 2018.
The tabled report expressed thanks for the “outstanding support” the council had received from the volunteer marshal and bucket collectors. These came from a range of local groups including Little Stoke Social Club, volunteers from two of the three mayor’s charities (The Brightwell and Mamas Bristol), Bradley Stoke in Bloom, Green Gym, Three Brooks Nature Conservation Group, the young people of Bradley Stoke, and BSTC councillors and staff.
Once again, Bradley Stoke Radio supported the event keeping the crowds entertained before the start of the display and Bradley Stoke Rotary Club ran their BBQ (which raised over £1,300 for their own charitable causes).
Fantastic fireworks last night at the Jubilee centre #BradleyStoke. Thank you to Bradley Stoke Town Council and all the local volunteers. Lots of community support and the event raised money for three great charities. pic.twitter.com/DxQRZxkpj9
— Jack Lopresti MP (@JackLopresti) November 6, 2023
The actual cost of staging this year’s display came in at £10,817, an increase of £2,229 on the £8,588 spent in 2022.
Feedback on social media
A small sample of the 90+ comments made on a video posted on the Bradley Stoke Journal’s Facebook page:
KH: It was amazing! Music was a great touch!
KS: Really amazing! The music was great! The disabled area was wonderful, it really helped make the event accessible for my son, thank you!
AD: The best show yet! Absolutely brilliant. Just needed donation buckets on every exit! Can’t wait until next year’s.
KG: Outstanding. To those involved in making it happen thank you!! Best year so far. Needs to be like this every year!
MC: Brilliant, best show so far.. the music was a great addition!
AC: Absolutely brilliant – well done! And thank you for such a spectacular show. Shame about the traffic coming out of Willow Brook – took an hour to get home!
JC: Loved it! Thank you to everyone involved. I asked someone holding a bucket for a QR code to make a donation and that worked really well. Great selection of music – something for everyone. Fantastic display.
SL: Brilliant display, but wish there was no parking on Savages Wood Road, and there were more food vans, as the queues were ridiculously long, merging into each other. Also, would love a funfair on the other field, before, during and after the fireworks to make it a longer experience.
Plans for 2024
Councillors voted unanimously to repeat the ‘fireworks to music’ format for the 2024 display and have allocated a budget of £11,680 for the event, which will take place on Sunday 3rd November.
Related link: Fireworks Displays (The Journal)
