Are these the best firework displays in history?

Some 2,000 years ago, Chinese alchemists were searching for an elixir for immortality, when they stumbled across gunpowder. A mix of potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal, the recipe for this black powder, known as ‘huo yao’ (fire chemical), was developed. Soon the concoction was placed inside hollow bamboo sticks and thrown into fires, creating explosions of sound and light.

Napoleon’s coronation celebrations

I think my favourite firework display has to be the one in Paris for the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor in December 1804. A hot-air balloon was launched from the entrance of the cathedral of Notre Dame, hung with 3,000 coloured lamps, in an imperial crown pattern. As the balloon rose, a three-masted galleon – the symbol of Paris – arose out of the Seine and proceeded to launch fireworks into the sky. How did they do that?

Handel and the Royal Fireworks

In April 1749, 12,000 people gathered in Green Park to attend a showcase of music and pyrotechnics. The event saw the premiere of George Frideric Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, a suite commissioned by King George II to mark the end of the War of the Austrian Succession. The French were so renowned for their firework displays that a Frenchman had been hired to create the event. There were 10,000 rockets and the same number of other fireworks. While the crowd marvelled at the rockets and balloons lighting up the capital’s skies, the firework display didn’t exactly go to plan. The wooden launch structure caught fire, and rain thwarted proceedings. Luckily, a contingency plan was put in place: the leftovers from the abandoned display were let off a month later in another spectacular extravaganza.

The Piazza di Spagna’s pyrotechnic marvels

In 1639, one of Rome’s most beloved squares, the Piazza di Spagna, provided the location for an extraordinary event. Spread over two days, the occasion was a masterpiece of pyrotechnic ingenuity. At the climax, a castle exploded in layers, like the peeling of an onion, to reveal in the middle a mounted statue of the Hapsburg Emperor.

Timothy Wilcox is a writer, Arts Society Lecturer and exhibition curator. He presents talks on the history of firework displays, the Bayeux Tapestry and the painter Dame Laura Knight.

Image: Shutterstock