Royal Yacht Britannia's 'private' fireworks party suggests they need to learn some manners – Stephen Jardine
Watching gunpowder go bang in the sky feels past its sell-by-date when drones can put on amazing, but silent, displays
“Remember, remember the 3rd of September, gunpowder for no reason at all.” It doesn’t really work does it? But try telling that to the people in charge at the Royal Yacht Britannia who chose 9pm last Thursday as the perfect time to unleash a huge display in the skies over Leith.
For seven minutes, rockets blasted and whooshed and the cacophony of massive explosions filled the air. With schools back, kids tucked up in bed and dog owners out for their evening walk, it wasn’t great timing and social media reflected that. “How many animals suffered for that?” posted one person. “How on Earth do they get away with that?” asked another.
That is a very good question. In advance, Britannia announced on its website that there would be a private fireworks display taking place. I think someone needs to buy a dictionary. Private: only for one person or group and not for everyone.
Fireworks control zones
I’m sure the people of north Edinburgh would have liked it to have remained private, leaving them in peace and quiet to read a book or watch Ludwig on the telly but with a pyrotechnic display in the open air, that’s not really possible, is it?
Away from the old floating gin palace, these things don’t really happen anymore. Meadowbank dropped its annual fireworks extravaganza in 2017, three years later the end of Edinburgh festival fireworks stopped and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has also dropped its nightly display.
We’ve moved on and the reasons are numerous. Fireworks are bad for the environment, terrify animals and have also become synonymous with anti-social behaviour. That’s why Edinburgh will have 14 firework control zones in place this autumn to try to reduce the negative impact they have in communities.
But those restrictions don’t start until the end of October… presumably because no one is expected to be causing a nuisance by letting off fireworks now.
Killjoys?
At least around Bonfire Night, people are braced for the problems but, on a Thursday night in early September, a huge noisy fireworks display was a big surprise to everyone, regardless of whether it was supposed to be private or not.
The fireworks lobby label anyone trying to reduce their use as ‘killjoys’. Well they would say that, wouldn’t they? The reality is that fireworks have had their day. In an age when 8,000 reuseable drones can be used to deliver one silent but stunning coordinated aerial display, standing watching gunpowder go bang in the sky feels a bit simple-minded and way past its sell-by-date.
Last week’s fireworks will have no doubt been preceded by an expensive black-tie dinner on Britannia. Events like that are a big source of revenue for them. While it’s good for any tourist attraction to find new ways to stay afloat, it shouldn’t be at the expense of those living nearby.
Leith is a famously friendly part of Edinburgh and I’m sure Royal Yacht Britannia bosses want to be on good terms with their neighbours. At the moment, they even have a two-for-one ticket offer for local residents.
That is very welcome and a great way for locals to explore the number one attraction in the world, according to TripAdvisor. But a little bit of humility and consideration for others wouldn’t go amiss as well.
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