Category: Fireworks

A municipality in Vaud preparing its 1 August celebration, a Geneva company ending an evening by the lake, a couple booking an estate in Valais: before pricing a fireworks display in Switzerland, we check several authorisations with them, each issued by a different authority.

This guide sets out what we find in the federal and cantonal texts when we prepare an application with our local partner, who holds the firing permits. The deadlines quoted are those published by the cantons: we confirm them for each project, as they may change.

The firing permit for category F4 articles

In Switzerland, firing large fireworks requires a personal authorisation, obtained after training and an examination. The SERI presents three of them:

• Fireworks A (FWA): outdoor firing of ready-to-use articles, with a calibre of up to 75 mm and up to 50 kg of net explosive mass on the firing site; nautical effects are excluded.
• Fireworks B (FWB): outdoor firing of categories F4, T2 and P2, with electric or pyrotechnic ignition, and transport above the exempted quantities.
• Stage fireworks (BF): T2 and P2 articles on stage, indoors and outdoors, where only T2 articles are allowed.

Our pyrotechnicians hold the French F4-T2 qualification certificate. That certificate does not apply in Switzerland on its own: recognition of a foreign permit goes through the SERI. For our firing in Switzerland, we therefore work with a local partner who holds these authorisations. The partner carries out the firing; our pyrotechnicians write the sequence to the soundtrack and prepare the articles at our depot in Aigremont.

The firing authorisation, between cantonal police and municipality

The firing itself falls to the canton and the municipality where it takes place. The deadlines we have found differ from one canton to another:

• Vaud: application to the cantonal police, on the municipality’s advice, at least 15 days before the firing for categories F4 and T2.
• Neuchâtel: the application must reach the Neuchâtel police at least 14 days ahead; it then goes to the municipality and the services concerned.
• Geneva: using category 4 articles requires an express authorisation from the department in charge of security.
• Fribourg, Valais and Jura: the application goes through the cantonal police and the municipality; we confirm the deadline with them at the first contact.

The Vaud and Geneva forms ask for the insurance certificate, the site layout and the safety measures; the Geneva form adds the list of products. We prepare these documents with our partner.

Near Geneva airport, Skyguide’s prior opinion

In the canton of Vaud, a firing site between the Saint-Prex beacon and Geneva airport also requires a favourable opinion from the airport’s traffic service, provided by Skyguide. According to the safety rules published by the canton (in French), the cantonal police request this opinion with a form, and the organiser informs Skyguide at least 15 minutes before the firing starts.

We check this point during the site visit, with the exact address of the firing site.

Importing the articles from France

The category F4 articles leaving our depot need an import authorisation from the Central Office for Explosives and Pyrotechnics, part of the Federal Police (fedpol). According to fedpol, F4 articles without European conformity have no longer received import authorisations since 1 July 2017.

We therefore choose CE-marked products and submit the application as soon as the list of articles is agreed with you.

Firing from a lake or a barge

On Lake Geneva, the Geneva Festival fireworks are fired offshore, away from the shore, and Lausanne’s official 1 August fireworks are fired from the lake, opposite Ouchy. We also fire from a barge: the audience stays on the quays, and the firing moves away from facades and vegetation.

In summer 2026, this format remained possible when drought led to bans on outdoor fires. In the canton of Vaud, from 28 July, only professional firing from a lake, at events organised or authorised by the municipalities, was still allowed (blue News, in French). In Valais, Le Bouveret, which fires from the lake, was granted an exemption.

When the canton bans all firing, we propose a drone show in place of the 1 August fireworks, priced in the same quote.

Timeline of authorisations for fireworks in Switzerland

Step	Authority	Deadline found
Choice of site, date and format	Celesta, municipality, venue owner	Three to six months ahead
Firing authorisation	Cantonal police, on the municipality’s advice	At least 15 days ahead (Vaud), 14 days (Neuchâtel)
Express authorisation for category 4	Department in charge of security (Geneva)	To be confirmed with the canton
Aviation opinion, between Saint-Prex and Geneva	Skyguide, requested by the cantonal police	With the firing application; call 15 minutes before
Import of F4 articles	Central Office for Explosives and Pyrotechnics (fedpol)	As soon as the list of articles is agreed
Firing	Local partner holding an FWA or FWB authorisation	On the day

Fireworks in Switzerland with Celesta and its local partner

• Design and production: our pyrotechnicians compose the firing to your soundtrack and prepare the articles in Aigremont.
• Firing: our local partner, who holds the Swiss authorisations, fires the display.
• Applications: we prepare the documents required by the canton and the municipality, and the import application.
• Fallback: if the canton bans fireworks, we propose firing from the lake or a drone light show, priced in the same quote.

We work as a fireworks provider in Switzerland in Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Sion and Basel.

For an event in the open air or on public roads, safety requirements become more stringent as night falls: crowd management, pyrotechnic displays, laser beams, noise levels, and regulations governing traffic or the use of public spaces.

For local authorities, festival committees and event organisers, this guide summarises the relevant regulations, the mandatory procedures to be followed with prefectures and town halls, and the precise timetable to be adhered to.

Notifying an event on public land

Whenever a night-time event takes place on public land (streets, squares, local parks), the Internal Security Code requires prior notification.

• Prior notification to the town hall: submit your application for temporary occupation of public land (AOT).
• Local by-laws: necessary for managing road closures, traffic diversions or the reservation of parking spaces for service vehicles.
• Statutory deadlines: the application must be submitted between 15 days and 3 months before the event. A minimum lead time of 1 to 2 months is recommended to allow for safety committee meetings to be held if the set-up requires temporary structures (stages, grandstands).

Regulations governing pyrotechnic shows and fireworks displays

If the event includes entertainment effects such as a fireworks display, the requirements vary depending on the category of the products and the quantity of active material (K3 or K4/F4).

Notification thresholds for fireworks

• F2/F3 fireworks on private property: no prior notification is required provided that the total quantity of active material remains below the 35 kg threshold.
• Pyrotechnic shows (F4 or T2 fireworks, or those containing more than 35 kg of active material): a prefecture declaration and a local council declaration are required.

Deadlines and form

• Official form: Cerfa No. 14098*02.
• Mandatory deadline: at least one month before the firing date.
• Documents to be provided: site plan of the firing zone (clearance, safety distances), certificate of qualification for the pyrotechnician (F4/T2), certificate of public liability insurance for the pyrotechnics company, product data sheets and written consent from the landowner.

Be aware of summer prefectural orders: during heatwaves or droughts, prefectures frequently issue temporary bans on firing to prevent fires. We monitor these orders daily as the date approaches.

Laser displays and night-time special effects

High-powered spotlights and stage lasers add a striking visual element to night-time events, but their use is strictly regulated for reasons of visual safety and air navigation.

• Class 1 and 2 lasers: the organiser or service provider may operate them under their own responsibility, whilst ensuring that nearby aerodromes or airports are notified.
• Class 3B and 4 lasers: prior notification to the prefecture is compulsory.
• Deadline: the application and technical dossier (including the firing plan, beam orientation and safety perimeter) must be submitted to the prefecture at least one month before the event, including test firings.

Noise, public safety and copyright

The technical and safety aspects are accompanied by cross-cutting initiatives:

• Noise levels and public peace: noisy night-time events must comply with the decree on the prevention of risks associated with noise and amplified sound (thresholds set at 102 dB(A) over a 15-minute period). It is strongly recommended that local residents be informed in advance.
• Temporary premises open to the public (ERP): the erection of tents, marquees or mobile structures (CTS) open to the public requires approval from the safety committee if the capacity so requires.
• SACEM and SPRE: the broadcast of original or recorded music must be declared in advance via the SACEM portal at least 15 days before the event date in order to qualify for reduced rates.

Summary timetable of steps to be taken

Administrative procedure	Body or authority	Minimum statutory notice
Application for an event on public roads	Town hall or prefecture	1 to 3 months before
Notification of a pyrotechnic show (F4 or over 35 kg)	Prefecture and town hall (Cerfa 14098*02)	1 month before
Class 3B or 4 laser declaration	Prefecture, events department	1 month before
Application for a safety committee review	Town hall, prevention department	1 month before
Music broadcasting declaration	SACEM	15 days before
Application for a traffic or parking order	Town hall or highways department	15 days to 3 weeks before

Turnkey support to secure your administrative procedures

Designing an immersive show, a pyrotechnic show or a drone light show also involves dealing with prefectural authorities, compiling Cerfa applications, validating safety perimeters and monitoring prefectural drought decrees. Celesta supports local authorities, associations and businesses throughout the entire process:

• Comprehensive administrative support: drafting the full technical dossier, submitting Cerfa prefecture declarations and liaising directly with the regulatory authorities.
• Technical compliance and safety: drawing up layout plans, calculating firing or projection ranges, and deploying certified pyrotechnicians or technicians.
• Responsiveness to regulatory uncertainties: ongoing monitoring of local prefectural restrictions (heatwaves, strong winds) with proposals for technical adjustments where necessary to avoid outright cancellation.

Celesta handles these procedures for pyrotechnic shows and drone shows alike, and provides a fixed price in the quote.

The great royal celebrations turned fireworks into a courtly art. From Versailles to London, these blazing displays told of power, of peace restored and of the magnificence of a reign. That heritage directly informs the way Celesta designs pyrotechnic shows today for castles, monuments and local authorities, in France and abroad.

Versailles, cradle of the great royal celebration

In 1664, Louis XIV was not yet twenty-six. From 7 to 13 May, he offered his court the Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée: seven days of carousel, theatre, ballet and refreshments in the gardens of Versailles, still under construction. On the third evening, a fireworks display set ablaze the palace of the sorceress Alcina, built near the Grand Canal. Nothing about the show was gratuitous: it staged the power of a young king and his taste for the arts.

Four years later, on 18 July 1668, the Grand Divertissement royal celebrated the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle and the annexation of Flemish towns such as Lille and Douai. Banquet, ball, then fireworks: the sequence was conceived as a narrative, building in intensity towards the luminous finale. The engravings circulated afterwards by the royal printing house extended the event far beyond the night it took place.

London 1749: Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks

Across the Channel, one episode lives on in musical memory. In 1749, King George II commissioned George Frideric Handel to write music to accompany the Green Park fireworks, given on 27 April to celebrate the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The score, known as the Music for the Royal Fireworks (HWV 351), is written for an imposing ensemble of winds and timpani.

The rehearsal, held on 21 April at Vauxhall Gardens, drew close to 12,000 people and caused a traffic jam lasting several hours on London Bridge. The official evening went less smoothly: rain multiplied the misfires, a pavilion of the Temple of Peace caught fire and the incident cost three spectators their lives.

Celesta has made the synchronisation of fire and music one of its specialities, with firing sequences time-coded to a soundtrack or to an orchestra playing live.

The principles of royal celebrations in our displays today

A great royal celebration rested on dramaturgy, a setting steeped in history and flawless technical mastery. The court’s firework masters already had to reckon with wind, water and crowds, exactly like the teams who today secure a display in front of a listed monument.

At Versailles as at Chambord or the Château de Vincennes, stone reflects the light, water multiplies it, perspective guides the eye. On our displays at historic sites, we find that restraint often achieves more than excess.

Designing a pyrotechnic show for a heritage site

Celesta’s teams design bespoke shows for castles, monuments and major public events, in France and internationally. We start from the story: what do we want the audience to feel? Which turning point are we building towards? What final image should the spectator take home?

Then comes the technical writing: choice of products, calibres, firing angles, safety perimeter and audience capacity. An ICPE-classified storage facility gives the teams genuine logistical autonomy, from preparing the fireworks to transporting them. That independence matters when a site imposes access constraints or tight deadlines.

Celesta is not limited to fireworks. Luminous drones, video mapping, stage effects such as cold sparks or low fog, performers woven into the staging: the palette adapts to the venue and the budget. On a sensitive monument or in an area subject to noise restrictions, a drone swarm can take over from pyrotechnics without losing any of the narrative charge.

A telling example: a town celebrating its anniversary can pair a display synchronised to its local music with a few minutes of drones drawing its coat of arms in the sky.

Safety and the regulatory framework

In France, entertainment fireworks are governed by decree no. 2010-455 of 4 May 2010, which classifies them in categories F1 to F4 according to their level of hazard. Firing category F4 products requires a level 2 qualification certificate, whose renewal depends on taking part in at least three pyrotechnic shows over a two-year period.

Drone shows answer to a different body of rules, chiefly European regulation 2019/947. Administrative declarations, safety perimeter, coordination with the local authorities: these steps protect the client legally as much as they protect the public.