Sat 22nd August 09, 3.53pm - UpdatedSo that's what 110,000 rockets look like when they're launched in 6.5 seconds. OK it wasn't what we planned and we can understand a lot of people were disappointed. We apologise to everyone who came to Bournemouth expecting to see something far more spectacular, and longer-lasting. It was originally planned to do the launch in 60 seconds but then Guinness World Records told us they would only recognise it if it beat our previous world record of 56,000 in 30 seconds. Unfortunately by the time we heard that, the Bournemouth publicity was already advertising 60seconds. However even we were astonished at how fast they all went up. Some of it was down to the high wind speed which fanned the flames of the fuses. But mostly it was down to ensuring that with the threat of a wet and windy evening out at sea on barge, we got everything airborne as quicky as possible. That it was far too quick is now plain but we were just asked to break a world record and that's what we attempted to do. The barge didn't catch fire, no one was hurt and thousands of pounds were raised for charity. We've been widely criticised for not making it more entertaining and with the benefit of hindsight perhaps we should have added all sorts of different colourful effects. But the entertainment was the firework display which came before. We are delighted to have helped the Help for Heroes charity raise so much money and without this attempt and the efforts of of our own volunteers, they would be the poorer today. I have now asked Bournemouth Council if they will let us come back next year, we'll do it for free and we'll get it right.
My thanks to freelance photographer Donna Nicholson for sending us the photo shown here. For all the flak we've taken from our legions of followers, at least Donna and her family enjoyed what they saw. She wrote: 'Thanks, my kids loved it. Well done - have the above photo copy right free.' Thanks Donna and to everyone else who has joined in the debate, even Anonymous. We know who you are.
25 comments:
I was there, and it was total rubbish compared to the build up.
Roar on the shore? surely Bore on the shore
It was billed for 1 minute and lasted 6.5 seconds, instead of claiming victory admit it went wrong, thats why the barge caught fire
David, What do you expect when 114,000 rockets go up, nah..would never get hot would it?
The council advertised it way out of proportion, it was still good though.
They do say any publicity is good, even bad publicity.
But that does not take away the disappointment of 150,000 people
Surely you were aware of the publicity, and the fact that you risked letting a lot of people down.
Perhaps you also got the world recod in number of upset people, 150,000 in less than 10 seconds
Just watched the plymouth record attempt. I am even more convinced that something went wrong last night. I didnt observe a wonderful fireworks display.
You say it went exactly to plan. Well the RFA Mounts Bay, was anchored, but moved at quite a speed about 9:15pm so it would be at quite a distance away from the shore for the record attempting fireworks. Security boats also cleared the area surrounding. So surely they too weren't mis-informed?
What a hard done by bunch
We think it was fab for free!!!!!!
We saw it from the pier with a beer
A Camera and some very happy kids. Life it what you make it.
Well done for a good effort and thanks
check out bournemouthecho.co.uk
You can see the photos taken by the Poole RNLI Lifeboat.
The money it must have cost the lifeboat to be out last night.
I suppose we should be thankful that this did not turn into a disaster. It was turning into a crush on the beach, and we could see the rockets going at terrifying angles, not under control at all.
A rocket could easily have gone into the crowd. Very unprofessional, and dangerous as well as a big let down.
Just seen it on the news, thought I was the only one confused, cant believe how many others were unimpressed.
I heard that even the council are confused?
I know it was a free display, but alot of people sponsored these fireworks, and they should have been something great not just for us, but for what the charity stands for.
Some very harsh comments from unsatisfied spectators.
I was there last night and came on this site to say well done and thank you to Fantastic Fireworks for putting Bournemouth on the map as World Record breakers! and aiding to raise money for Help the Heros.
I wasn't let down, me and my kids had a fun evening, and they loved the display.
WELL DONE FANTASTIC FIREWORKS!! and to all the people that gave up their FREE time to SUPPORT this charity and record attempt.
Ignore all the nasty and vicious comments from people who have nothing better to do than just try and find the bad in everything and everyone.
OK, so it wasn't what everyone was expecting. So what. This can only be because they didn't understand what was going on. This was down to the advertising and promotion of the event. Something Fantastic Fireworks were NOT responsible for.
If you compare it to the Plymouth record attempt you can clearly see what was going to happen. It did, but much quicker making it even better than the previous record.
In my opinion, this is what Bournemouth and everyone who sponsored a rocket should be celebrating, 110000 rockets in UNDER a minute. I'd like to see them do better!
Well done to all and congratulations.
I can't believe that anyone posting positive comments on this page isn't a member of Fantastic Fireworks themselves! It was a terrible dispointment.
Had a GREAT night. I am ALWAYS disappointed a the end of a fireworks display as I NEVER want them to end lol, but me and my cousins LOVED seeing the world record!!!!
I hope LOTS of money was raised for the HEROES who fight for us.
WELL DONE EVERYONE!!!
Ok lets be fair, it was a free event, and it is only part of what is a fantastic weekend.
The problem was that this record attempt was blown out of all proportion, so lets get on and have a fun weekend and hope that in future people set the expectation right.
To be honest over 100,000 rockets let of in some kind of order over 40 Seconds would provide a spectacle.
So why not put some imagination into the project next time
But in fairness you did help raise money for a very worthy cause
Support HELP THE HEROES
I cannot believe the organisers can call last night's contastrophe a success. It was a complete shambles. Why can they not just call a spade a spade and admit it was a complete cock up? I would at least have some sympathy with them if they said 'sorry guys, we got it wrong'. It was no more of a success than Man Utd's visit to Burnley the other night.
I was there to see the Rocket launch and i was impressed, yes it could have lasted longer but at the end of the day I went along for the right reasons to support a very worthy charity event.
YES, this was done to make money for CHARITY and so I am amazed by some of the comments I read here.
I think some people need to remember why this event was staged rather than their own problems with the event!
If it helped to raise money for our heroes then I say well done Fantastic Fireworks!
how much money has actually been donated to Help for Heroes?
Its a shame those that have left comments critising Fantastic Fireworks, and the event, have not had the nerve to leave their name. It appears all they want to do is attack Fantasitc Fireworks, instead of looking at the event as a whole, and the money that was raised. Well done Fantastic Fireworks for participating in the fundraising event.
I find myself split into two I can see it as a technical exercise of 110,000 fireworks getting this to work is a fantastic achievement. But being on the beach it was an anti climax my seven year old sum it up “was that it”. (Fantastic Fireworks) need look at this and get the point; you are in the entertainment industry even when breaking a record. So first and foremost make it entertaining.
It looks like somebody took their eye of the ball and was just looking at record and not the 150,000 people watching the display. Directly or indirectly these people pay your wages not the Guinness book of recorders.
Didn't anyone understand what the point of the event was? It was a charity event (for Help For Heroes) with a firework display followed by a record-breaking attempt of 110,000 rockets. Don't tell me you all seriously thought it was supposed to be 100,000 shells? That would be really stupid if you thought that. Perhaps all those negative feedback messages (and those anonymous ones) are from people who don't have a clue! I thought it was great. It was exactly as it was meant to be. Well done do all the organisers and the fireworks company. Bournemouth should be proud of their new world-record and people should get their facts right before posting unfair comments. Loads of money was raised and whatever anyone says, that makes it a huge success in my eyes.
Tony S said,
Well done Steve, Paul, Ali,Jon, and the FF Team, so pleaseing to see the Web site so busy.....suggest that Anonymous makes them selfs known.... As JC suggests we know who you are.
Tony :)xx
Hello everyone
Thank you so much for your comments, all of which have been noted. We appreciate that there are a lot of disappointed spectators out there and are really sorry you feel this way. However I think it is important to point out that Fantastic Fireworks were not responsible for any of the publicity material surrounding the event, and it is only through reading the comments left on here, Facebook and the Bournemouth Echo web-page that we have become aware of how great the expectation was compared to what actually happened. I think one of the main points of confusion is that this event was marketed as a 'firework' spectacular with 114,000 fireworks to be set off within a minute. As far as FF and Guinness World Records were concerned, the event was always a rocket launch attempt, with 110,000 rockets having to go up in UNDER 30 seconds to bag the record.
The 6 minute pre-Launch display went exactly as planned and as requested by the customer. For anyone who is unsure what the rocket record should have looked like, there is footage available on YouTube of the last time Fantastic Fireworks set the world record, in Plymouth. You can see the footage is a very similar – only Bournemouth’s one happened very much faster (as hoped).
Fantastic Fireworks are proud of all the hard work put in to achieve the World Record Rocket Launch title on behalf of Bournemouth, and are pleased to have fulfilled the brief we were given. If it wasn’t quite the spectacle it had been marketed as, we are sorry, but this aspect of the event was not within our control and it is not something we were involved in at any point.
As for the comments about the barge on fire etc – the sheer amount of heat coming off of 110,000 rockets inevitably caused a few of the wooden racks holding the rockets to catch alight in places, but these flames were quickly extinguished by our well prepared and experienced Firing Team. The barge was returned to the harbour totally unscathed save for a couple of scorch marks.
In response to the comments about the traffic chaos – what can we say? The roads and traffic management systems of Bournemouth are not something over which we have any influence, but we are sympathetic to the added frustration these queues must have caused.
All in all we are very proud of our efforts to help Bournemouth Borough Council achieve their place in the Guinness World Record Books, and of course to help a charity as worthy as Help for Heroes. Our Firing Team of over 30 men and women all donated their time voluntarily to make this event happen – some booking the time off of work, driving down to Bournemouth and finding accommodation and meals at their own personal cost. I am sure they will all be even more devastated than we in the office are to hear your disappointed comments after all the hard work and long hours they very kindly put in, absolutely free of charge.
I must say that I am amazed by some of the response to this event. Some of the comments I have read on various sites are totally uncalled for, and in some instances downright brutal - as was the treatment some of our Firing Team received on the night. One Firer in particular received such abuse from members of the public that he actually feared for his personal safety. I would never have imagined a voluntary worker at a free public charity event would have been made to feel this way.
But anyway, I hope we can all now focus at least a little bit of our attention on the positives of the night. This was a FREE public event, successful in its objective to break a World Record, and it raised a lot of money for a truly wonderful cause. I really hope everything else will not overshadow these important achievements completely.
Kind regards
Kate at FF
I am sorry to see so many negative comments, as 1 of the 28 pyrotechnicians that donated our time for FREE, i can honestly say the event was FANTASTIC!
The Help the Heroes charity raised money, the 5 minute pre show went perfectly and the rocket record has been set! and in an amazing 6 seconds... beat that!
Comments about the Heroes not being proud about the event, the fact that 150,000+ turned up to the event in support of these guys, would have made them very proud!
If you having nothing better to do than complain, then use that energy in a positive manner and donate your time for free to a good cause!
I admire you guys for giving so many whiners and whingers a free ride on your site. Some are clearly only interested in being abusive but they all have a point. Expectations were not met. Whether that was down to you or Bourenmouth I don't know. Perhaps you should offer to do it for free again next year and make sure it gives people what they came to see this time - 60 seconds of mayhem!
Well we travelled an hour and took a day out of a weeks holiday. It was well worth the trip, a little disappointing yes - however the record was broken, and thats what it was about. I know how it feels to spend hours/days setting up a display. The last thing you guys need is negative comments, good effort to everyone involved.
Having seen that you help raise over £1 million for Help for Heroes, all is forgiven!
No doubt both Fantastic Fireworks and Bournemouth council will taske on board some of these comments and make the next attempt better managed.
Alls well that ends well!
Just shows the power of communication!
Now the world record is under your belt do come back next year with a truly fantastic finale.
This time people will know what to expect and you will recieve praise.
Thanks for being open and honest, also taking time to take on board peoples comments, a lot of companies should take the approach you guys have. Lets hope that next time all parties manage the expectation better.
Again, thanks for helping to raise an awful lot of money for a worthy cause, and that to me made up for any disappointment
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