First public fireworks display in Stansted for five years set to dazzle on Saturday November 9

The first public fireworks display in Stansted for five years will return this autumn with a bang.

The parish council and Stansted Business Forum have secured a deal to resume the community event from the grounds of Forest Hall School with an award-winning pyrotechnics team that lit up the skies over Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.

SelStar Fireworks, which is representing the UK at the International Fireworks Championship in Michigan on Friday and Saturday (Sept 6-7), will put together a display to music for villagers on the school playing fields on Saturday November 9.

Gates will open at 6.30pm with fireworks from 7.30pm. There will be hot dog and burger stalls, a bar and hot and cold drinks served.

Tickets for the event are on sale now via Eventbrite. Online prices are £4 for children aged 5-15, £8 for over-16s and £20 for a family of four. Gate prices are £5, £10 and £25 respectively.

Proceeds will go to local charities with a donation made to Forest Hall School. The parish council has set aside £4,000 towards event costs.

The school last hosted the display in 2019, but Harlow-based Burnt Mill Academy Trust (BMAT), which runs the school, pulled the plug for subsequent years citing safety concerns amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The council and business forum have spent the past three months working to bring the fireworks back after being unable to find an alternative site.

Talks between the Stansted Economic Development Group and BMAT culminated this summer in permission being granted for an event.

Stansted Parish Council chair Maureen Caton said: “We would very much like to thank the trust and the economic development group for helping us deliver a Guy Fawkes Night for residents in 2024. We hope lots of people come out to join us on November 9.

“We will be one of the few local villages to have their own fireworks night after all.”