15/08/2026
This has taken some time and consideration as to whether we should post this statement or not, we didn’t want it to come across as sour grapes actually the opposite.
This year’s was, without a doubt, one of our strongest performances yet. We put an incredible amount of time, effort, creativity and passion into the show and genuinely believe it was one of the best displays we have produced at any competition for a long time. To finish outside the top four was therefore incredibly disappointing and difficult to understand.
We fully appreciate that judging is subjective, but the result has left us questioning whether it truly reflected the quality of the displays. What has been particularly striking is the reaction from fellow professional designers and display teams, both those who were there on the night and those watching online. We have received a huge amount of feedback from social media and people within the industry who were genuinely surprised by the result and simply cannot understand how our display didn’t place in the top four.
We would, of course, like to congratulate all of the other competitors on their fantastic displays, and especially the winners AJ Pyrotechnics Ltd and those who made the top four. They should all be proud of what they achieved.
Our concern is that results like this have the potential to harm UK firework competitions moving forward. When teams invest so much time, money and effort into competing, they need to have confidence in the judging process. If teams begin to feel that results are unpredictable or unfair, it could discourage them from entering future competitions.
