On July 18th, the night sky over Liverpool, England was alive with the city’s largest fireworks display ever to celebrate the 100th birthday of the city’s famous Anglican Cathedral. Staged by the Liverpool Culture Company, the 20 minute display was designed by Ian Woodroof of Fantastic Fireworks with the help of 17 experienced firers. The majestic 300’ high, 600’ long, 10,000 sq m structure became the centerpiece of its own birthday party.

To get the show underway, the Fireworks team had to crane 6 tons of materials onto the Cathedral roof, with over 450 hours of rigging and preparation and the running of over 4km of cables. The team also dealt with the various environmental challenges of working at height on the raked roof and the maze of narrow and labyrinthine access passages throughout the building. The fact that the Church was open to the public during rigging posed other challenges, especially as several bell ringing sessions (the highest and heaviest peal in the world) took place on the Sunday of the show, marking to the date 100 years since the laying of the foundation stone by King Edward VII.

The performance included over 35,000 different firework effects, sourced and imported by Fantastic from Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, and China plus hundreds of individually timed cues. The show was called by Woodroof and detonated from four synchronized Pyromate remote firing systems.

Anglican Cathedral’s 100th Anniversary

The Fantastic Fireworks Team