Why spending $20 million on fireworks might be a good thing

On December 31st, billions of people around the world gathered to bring in 2017 with huge fireworks displays. Fireworks are essential for New Year’s Eve, although no one ever really thinks about the cost of these shows. Some cities go above and beyond, going so far as to attract visitors from all over the globe just to witness the pyrotechnic masterpieces.

These are the 5 most expensive fireworks displays around the world:

1. Abu Dhabi, $20 million — In 2009, Abu Dhabi broke the record of the most expensive fireworks with their display costing a massive $20 million USD and lasted 55 minutes. Despite the high cost, it does not hold the record for size. The show was in celebration of the UAE’s 37th National Day. The celebrations themselves spanned 12 days, from the 23rd of November to 4th of December.

2. Kuwait $15, million — In 2012, Kuwait held an hour-long firework display that shot out 77,282 shells, costing $15 million. It was held in Kuwait City and was watched by tens of thousands of spectators. It marked 50 years to the day since the late Sheikh Abdullah al-Salem al-Sabah announced that Kuwait had become the first Arab state in the Gulf to create a constitution and a parliament.

3. Dubai, $6 million — Dubai holds the record for the largest pyrotechnics show of all. The 2014 show broke the U.S record of 400,000 shells, releasing 479,651 shells in just 6 minutes, 80,000 shells per minute and 1,332 fireworks per second. The show cost $6 million to prepare.

4. Sydney, $6.3 million — Sydney is one of the first cities to celebrate New Year’s due to the time zone and spends an annual budget of $6.3 million. The shows have a different theme every year and are famous for the ‘waterfall’ effect off the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The NYE fireworks in Sydney are watched by over 1 billion people annually with 1.5 million people gathering at the shorefront.

5. New York, est. $6 million — New York may be famous for the New Year’s Eve ball drop, but they are also big on fireworks. New York is said to spend around $6 million annually and release 1,600 shells per minute. The fireworks are shot out over the Manhattan skyline and draw crowds of millions.

Now, these grand displays are sure fun to view, although who is actually paying for them? Well, most public fireworks displays are paid for by city councils AKA tax payers. There has been concern about appropriate wealth distribution and whether it is worth it to spend such large money on fireworks.

The answer to this is that fireworks displays as large as these can be beneficial for local economies. For example, the Sydney NYE fireworks bring in an extra $112 million USD of consumer spending during the period, giving a boost for local businesses and fully covers all event related expenses.

Imagine the kind of consumer spending Abu Dhabi generated around their $20 million show! Maybe other cities should start spending more on their pyrotechnics…