Joe GallopBonfire Night events have been cancelled across several UK towns and cities due to a major increase in the cost of firework displays.
Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich and Glasgow are among the cities to have cancelled firework displays in recent weeks.
Nottingham City Council is the latest to axe its event as costs have doubled since 2019. It will be the fourth year running it has been scrapped, with 2020 and 2021 affected by the pandemic and last year also affected by rising costs.
The Nottingham event was expected to require around £60,000 to stage this year, with a third covered by the Mellors Group, and a £40,000 cost to the council. The council said this is a significant increase on the £30,000 event in 2019 due to a sharp rise in inflation and new regulation.
Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, portfolio holder for leisure and culture at Nottingham City Council, said, “We did not want to have to take this decision, but with increasing financial pressures in a very difficult current economic climate, we were left with no choice.
“I know officers worked really hard to secure external funding, but unfortunately costs remained very high in a number of area and we continue operating in a tough economic environment, making it difficult to stage the event this year.”
Elsewhere, Manchester City Council said it will instead provide family-focused activities such as pumpkin carving, ‘Halloween in the City’ and a Christmas parade.
“We want to support families through the cost-of-living crisis and feel that this is much better way to target resources by providing a programme of events,” said Cllr Lee Ann Igbon, executive member for Manchester City Councils’ Vibrant Neighbourhoods.
Norwich City Council, which has not held a fireworks night event since 2019, also said costs have doubled since the last display.
In Wales, the free Swansea City Council beach fireworks display will be replaced by a cinema ticketed event, reports Wales Online.
In Scotland, Perth and Kinross Council have also made restrictions, including reducing the bonfire size by a quarter. Glasgow Life, which runs culture and leisure services for Glasgow City Council, also said it has diverted resources for other events during the festival period.