Wivenhoe residents unhappy Essex University fireworks delayed

Essex University’s annual fireworks event, which is organised by the university’s students’ union alongside its student media group – Rebel, had been scheduled for last Thursday, November 2.

The organisers were forced to postpone the event to this Tuesday, however, after a yellow weather warning was issued as Storm Ciarán battered Essex last week.

Strong winds and heavy rainfall hit Colchester and other parts of the county throughout the day which would’ve made for poor and potentially unsafe conditions for spectators.

Spectacular - the university's fireworks display was a hit with spectators (Image: Halle Groves)

The students’ union updated visitors ahead of the event, which it describes as the most explosive night of the year, on its website and social media channels.

However, some Wivenhoe residents were disappointed by the decision to postpone the event, with one disgruntled resident taking to social media to claim they hadn’t been notified of the change.

Another wrote: “I agree – totally unexpected and my dogs had only just started to recover after a long weekend of [fireworks]. Why on earth [would you have a fireworks display] on the 7th?”

'It was a great show'

Despite the criticism, many have said the spectacular display was among the best they’d ever seen, with the Wivenhoe Park campus becoming packed out with students and residents from Wivenhoe and further afield as the skies above the university glowed with a range of incredible hues.

Claudia Bradley, who is a final year multimedia journalism student and Rebel’s deputy head of editorial, had a great evening watching the fireworks and felt it was well worth waiting for.

Friends - students Halle Groves and Claudia Bradley enjoyed the fireworks (Image: Claudia Bradley)

“The fireworks are always one of the uni’s most popular events,” she explained. “It was great to see so many people stay in the evening after their lectures and families with their kids coming into campus.

“The food trucks were great. I think we waited a good amount of time because the ground wasn’t very muddy, too. It was a great event and a great fireworks show.”

The university’s sports clubs and societies also ran several stalls on the night.

The students' union has apologised for any distress the rearranged display may have caused.

A spokesman added: “Our fireworks display had to be rearranged due to safety concerns caused by adverse weather. All of our online communications around the rescheduled event were updated as soon as we made the decision to postpone.”