Behind the scenes of Southend’s free fireworks displays

Ever wondered where the fireworks lighting up Southend seafront actually come from? Each autumn, as crowds gather along the promenade to watch the free Saturday night displays, the real action is happening on a bright yellow barge moored out in the Thames Estuary.

The displays are designed and fired by Dynamic Fireworks, a Colchester-based company that specialises in large-scale professional firework shows for weddings, festivals and public events. They are responsible for creating Southend’s seafront displays, as well as shows at other coastal locations such as Clacton Pier and Felixstowe. Dynamic Fireworks also delivered Southend’s first ever New Year’s Eve fireworks in 2024.

In the daytime before each of the Southend seafront fireworks displays, the barge is loaded with dozens of heavy mortar tubes and racks arranged in precise formations. Each one holds individual firework shells that are electronically wired and connected to a digital firing system. The entire display is controlled using COBRA Firing Systems, a professional-grade wireless firing platform widely used in the pyrotechnics industry.

However the fireworks displays on Southend seafront begin months in advance with the design phase. The Dynamic Fireworks team choreograph each show using specialist software, plotting the timing, colour and type of every shell to match the chosen soundtrack.

The programme is then uploaded into the COBRA system, which allows every firework to be triggered down to a fraction of a second via a secure wireless link.

For the fireworks season on Southend seafront, the distinctive yellow barge is towed out from Leigh-on-Sea and anchored several hundred metres off the seafront, next to Southend Pier.

Each week, the crew arrive with new fireworks to fill the tubes and racks, taking them to the barge via a small boat. The team then arms the system before the show begins.

At the start of the fireworks show, the COBRA software automatically fires the sequence, sending bursts of colour skyward in perfect synchronisation.

This method allows for complex effects and precise timing that would be very difficult to achieve manually. It also keeps operators at a safe distance, meeting strict safety regulations that govern professional pyrotechnic displays on water.

For many watching on the shore, the barge itself goes unnoticed in the distance. Yet it is the hidden stage that makes Southend’s much-loved fireworks possible.