28 Sep 2023
It’s the 40th anniversary of St Albans’ legendary Verulamium Park Fireworks Spectacular, and like every year, it promises to go with a bang!
The event started in 1983 in partnership with St Albans City Hospital and now 40 years on, more than £900K has been raised for local charities.
It returns this year on Saturday November 4.
Paul Dean, chairman of the Fireworks Spectacular, said: “Who would’ve thought an event set up in the ‘80s with five BBQs to cater for the crowd, would be in its 40th year, attracting 20,000 people yearly and raising over £900,000 for local charities. Help us get to the £1m this year mark and buy your tickets to the best display in
the county!”
Produced by Fantastic Fireworks, this year’s display will be accompanied by music from Glastonbury performers.
This year’s local charities are Youth Talk, who provide confidential counselling to young people and Open Door, who support people who have experienced homelessness or been at risk of sleeping rough.
Youth Talk chief executive David Barker said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be one of the chosen charities for this year’s Fireworks Spectacular. Young people need Youth Talk’s free, confidential counselling service more than ever before. We’ve moved to a new, larger home to allow us the space to grow in response to the mental health crisis.
“Donations from this sparkling fireworks display will provide us with much needed funds to help support more young people every week. With our incredible community’s support, we can look ahead to a brighter future. Thank you!”
Sarah Chambers, fundraising coordinator at Open Door, added: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the Fireworks Spectacular event and we extend our sincere gratitude to St Albans Cathedral for their unwavering support.
“The Cathedral has been an incredible partner to us over the years and we are especially excited to be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the St Albans Sleepout, which was first initiated by Reverend Paul Hackwood in 1993 at the Cathedral. This event is a testament to the powerful impact that can be made when communities come together to support those in need. We look forward to a successful fireworks event and to continuing our partnership with St Albans Cathedral in the future.”
Tickets are exclusively available online at www.stalbanscathedral.org/fireworks (from 10am today Thursday 28 September) .Gates open at 6pm, fireworks start at 7.30pm.
