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On Saturday Brixton Buzz – along with eight Buzz competition winners – joined the thousands of people who had assembled in a chilly but dry Brockwell Park for the Lambeth Fireworks display.
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Now a commercial event after Lambeth took away the traditional free show and then cocked up their attempt at a paid-for event, credit has to go to the organisers for offering a fairly slick experience on the night.
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There was two main entrances to the show, one at the Brixton end and and the other at Herne Hill. There seemed to be plenty of staff on hand, so people got on site quickly with minimal queues.
Bag checks were in operation – another reminder of how the event has changed. Back in the daym locals could just rock up with a bagful of booze and enjoy the free display….
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There was a fairly comprehensive selection of food vendors available, but most of the queues were massive, sometimes stretching over 50 metres in length. We gave them a miss.
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Some funfair rides were in the park as well.
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The crowd waits for the fireworks to begin.
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Booze was pricey, with a small can of Red Stripe knocking back punters £5 a go. Ouch.
Things were better in the loo department, with a very generous provision of plastic portaloos scattered around the park. Shame there was no organic toilets to be seen though.
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Looking back with the fairground and food stalls in the distance.
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The fireworks begin!
We were in the rather curious ‘priority viewing’ area at the top of the hill, a small grassy paddock with plastic sheeting keeping the view from non-paying eyes. There was a bar at one end, and warm-ish food handed out in plastic containers.
The view was great for taking pics, but it felt strange and a bit uncomfortable being separated from the crowd.
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Here’s some more photos of the display, which was suitably impressive:
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The fireworks were accompanied by a loud movie-themed soundtrack, but things seemed to go awry right at the end.
The firework display reached a suitably thunderous crescendo and climax, but once they’d stopped the music carried on for some time, leading people to think more fireworks were coming. It was a bit of an anti climax and an unfortunate blip in what has been a commendably professional performance.
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Putting on a live music was a very smart move by the organisers.
Instead of the usual mass stampede to leave after the fireworks had finished, loads of people stayed behind. We’re not fans of covers bands, but credit has to go to Brighton’s Shine On for putting together a perfect set of no-nonsense singalong hits for the assembled crowd.
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“Coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all…”
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Mini-mosh pit!
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Food stalls towards the Brixton entrance.
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What did you think of the firework display?
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