Celesta, pyrotechnic cover for tours in France
Is your tour coming through France with pyrotechnic or flame effects? Celesta handles the French regulatory framework: declarations to the town hall and the prefecture for every date, a certified F4-T2 pyrotechnician on site and liaison with the authorities on show night.
- Pyrotechnicians certified F4-T2 and C4-T2
- Declarations in every French département
- A team working in French and English
The declaration and the certificate required in France
Two obligations apply to any show using category F4 or T2 fireworks, outdoors or indoors (Decree no. 2010-580 of 31 May 2010).
Declaration to the town hall and the prefecture
D−30
at the latest, before each date
| Who files it | The show organiser; with a cover, Celesta prepares it and files it with them |
| What it covers | F4 or T2 fireworks, or more than 35 kg of active material |
| Form | Cerfa no. 14098*02, one per date and per municipality |
Certificate of the responsible pyrotechnician
F4-T2
qualification certificate issued in France
| Foreign qualification | Not automatically recognised in France |
| Approval | A prefectoral approval, in addition to the certificate |
| With a cover | The Celesta pyrotechnician named on the declaration answers for the firing to the authorities |
Indoors
The declaration applies just as it does outdoors. The set-up is also reviewed by the venue operator and, where applicable, by the safety commission.
Flame effects
They are not fireworks, but they fall under the venue’s safety rules. We include them in the same file.
Other formalities
Lasers, noise, use of public space: everything is covered in our guide to the procedures and deadlines for declaring a night-time event.
Our timeline for each French date
We open a file for each date as soon as the French leg of the tour is confirmed, and follow it through to the concert.
As soon as it is confirmed
Reading your technical rider
We study the effects rider, the product list and the layout, then check every item: CE marking, category, safety distances. If a product raises an issue in France, we tell you before filing.
Technical file
Drafting the documents in French
Description of the set-up, layout plan with safety distances, firing and shutdown procedures: these are the documents the reviewing authorities read.
D−30 at the latest
Filing with the town hall and the prefecture
We file the declaration for each date with the organiser, together with our insurance certificate and the qualification certificate and prefectoral approval of the designated pyrotechnician.
Until the concert
Answering the reviewing authorities
We respond to requests for further information and agree the running order with the venue operator and its safety team.
Show night
Our pyrotechnician on site
The declared pyrotechnician
Holder of the F4-T2 certificate and the prefectoral approval, it is their name that appears on the declaration for the date.
Checks the installation
The layout, products and distances must match what was declared.
Liaises with the authorities
Police, town hall, fire service, safety commission: they are the point of contact and liaise with your show control team.
Can stop an effect
They are authorised to require changes and to suspend an effect if safety conditions are no longer met.
One French tour, as many prefectures
Each date is declared where it takes place: a six-city tour means six files, reviewed by six prefectures. Here are the départements of the main tour cities.
- ParisParis (75)
- LilleNord (59)
- StrasbourgBas-Rhin (67)
- MaxévilleMeurthe-et-Moselle (54)
- LyonRhône (69)
- MarseilleBouches-du-Rhône (13)
- MontpellierHérault (34)
- ToulouseHaute-Garonne (31)
- BordeauxGironde (33)
- NantesLoire-Atlantique (44)
- RouenSeine-Maritime (76)
- And elsewhereanywhere in France
Maxéville is home to the Heavy Week-End Festival, where we declared and fired three days of flame effects. We declare our shows all over France: a city that is not on this list is handled in the same way.
Sharing the work with your technical team
Your team keeps its effects and runs them. Celesta takes on the regulatory side: the declaration, the certified pyrotechnician and the on-site checks.
| Task | Your team | Celesta |
|---|---|---|
| Show design and writing the effects | Your team | |
| Programming and running the show from your desk | Your team | |
| Pyrotechnic equipment, flame units and your technicians | Your team | |
| Technical direction of the tour | Your team | |
| Declaring each date to the town hall and the prefecture | Celesta, with the organiser | |
| Insurance certificate, F4-T2 certificate and the pyrotechnician’s approval | Celesta | |
| Checking the declared layout and distances | Celesta | |
| Liaison with the police, town hall, fire service and safety commission | Celesta | |
| Stopping an effect if safety conditions are no longer met | Celesta |
Foreign suppliers, promoters, venues and festivals
Foreign special effects suppliers
You tour with an artist, bringing your own pyrotechnics and flame effects. Your team keeps its effects and runs the show; we provide the French declaration and the certified pyrotechnician.
Concert promoters and producers
You are hosting an international production. We secure the declarations for your dates and the presence of the pyrotechnician, working with the tour production manager as we do for our effects for concerts and shows.
Venues, festivals and organisers
An act on your bill is bringing effects. We act as the link between the production, your operations team and the safety commission, as we do for our festival work.
Agencies and executive production offices also give us this role within a wider project: it is part of our offer for agencies and productions, alongside our stage special effects.
At the Heavy Week-End, three days of declared flames
3days of flame effects on the festival’s metal stage
| Location | Maxéville, Meurthe-et-Moselle |
| Client | Festival organiser |
| Set-up | Flame jets timed to the music |
| Declaration | Town hall and prefecture, at least one month ahead |
We timed each flame jet to a riff or a chorus, set the safety perimeters, positioned the extinguishing equipment and coordinated with the show control team and the emergency services. As your cover, we take on the same declaration and safety role for your team’s effects.
See the Heavy Week-End Festival project
Outside France, we handled the pyrotechnic engineering of an aquatic show at Chimelong Park, China.
What we need to open your file
Tour file
To send to Celesta as soon as the French dates are confirmed
- Tour dates, cities and venues
- The effects rider: pyrotechnics, flames and other special effects
- The list of pyrotechnic products, with their references and certificates of conformity
- Stage and layout plans
- Contact details for the local organiser and the operator of each venue
The deadline to meet
The declaration must be filed at least one month before each date. If you send us these documents as soon as the tour is confirmed, there is time to answer requests for further information before each concert.
Your documents can be in English: we work with your teams in both languages and draft the documents for the authorities in French.
Questions from productions before touring France
Is a pyrotechnician qualification obtained abroad valid in France?
Not automatically. Firing F4 or T2 fireworks must be placed under the responsibility of a pyrotechnician who holds a qualification certificate issued in France and a prefectoral approval. With a cover, that is the Celesta pyrotechnician named on the declaration.
Who files the declaration for the show?
The declaration is the show organiser’s responsibility. We prepare it and file it with them for each date, together with the technical documents, our insurance certificate, and our pyrotechnician’s certificate and prefectoral approval.
How much notice is needed before the first date?
At least one month between filing the declaration and the show, for each date. Allow extra time to draft the file and answer any requests for further information.
Is a declaration needed in every city?
Yes. Each show is declared to the town hall of the municipality and the prefecture of the département where it takes place. We file and follow up these declarations date by date.
Does indoor firing also have to be declared to the prefecture?
Yes. F4 or T2 fireworks fired indoors are declared to the town hall and the prefecture just as they are outdoors. The set-up is also reviewed by the venue operator and, where applicable, by the safety commission: we prepare both in the same file.
Are flame effects covered?
Flames are not fireworks, but using them in a venue open to the public falls under the venue’s safety rules. We include them in the file submitted to the operator, the town hall and, where applicable, the safety commission.
Can your technicians run the show?
Yes, your team runs its effects. Our pyrotechnician checks that the installation matches the declared file and can suspend an effect if safety conditions are no longer met.
Do you work in English?
Yes. We work with your teams in English, on the file and on site, and we draft the documents for the authorities in French.
Let’s prepare the declarations for your French dates
Send us the dates, cities and effects rider: we will review your request and prepare every date of your French tour with you.