Bonfire Night could be a damp squib with several major firework displays cancelled as the cost-of-living crisis takes a toll on cash-strapped councils nationwide. Local authorities hit hard by the rising cost of energy bills have been forced to call off Bonfire Night events - despite November 5 falling on a Saturday this year.
It will be the third successive year that Glasgow's popular spectacle has not happened, after Covid-19 restrictions saw the event cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Councils in Leeds, Hackney, Cardiff and Glasgow are among many to cancel their celebrations, reporting now-unobtainable costs reaching hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Others have announced it is going to take a lot of community support to push on and host their events. Leeds County Council took the tough decision to call off their six bonfire night events as they announced they would cost an unobtainable £200,000.
