The Brno-based NGO Nesehnutí, together with the support of a group of experts and public representatives, published an open letter on 17 June to the organizers of the Ignis Brunensis festival, demanding the cancellation of the fireworks displays held last month around Špilberk Castle and the Brno Dam. The letter argued that fireworks seriously harm people’s health, endanger the environment, and violate existing legislation related to nature protection.
The letter cited a meta-analysis from the Czech Academy of Science based on 2,000 independent studies regarding the ecological hazards surrounding the traditional and widely successful Ignis Brunensis Festival. This international fireworks competition has been one of Brno’s most notable events for the last few years, consistently attracting thousands of visitors and contributing to the city’s international reputation.
The report highlights the environmental pollution linked to the pyrotechnic performances, arguing that the chemicals and particles released to be dangerous for wildlife and humans alike. Taking Germany, Canada and Australia as examples, Nesehnutí is pushing for a total ban or “serious restrictions” on fireworks.
“For almost 40 years, hundreds of kilograms of explosive substances, gunpowder and additional chemical substances have been detonated in the middle of the water surface of the Brno Dam, every year for several nights in June, as part of a pyrotechnical ‘show’,” said Judit Laura Krásná, statutory representative of the Society for Animals, in the association’s open letter to the festival’s organizers. She added that a vast number of chemicals from the firework shows eventually find their way into the local water, soil and organic tissues of nearly every local species, including humans.
The negative impact is especially noticeable with nesting birds during this period, of which up to 28 species fall under special protection under the Nature and Landscape Protection Act, which is also confirmed by the ongoing investigation by the Czech Environmental Inspectorate initiated by Nesehnutí prior to the fireworks events in 2024.
“The Brno City Council was warned about the negative impacts of the fireworks show back in 2020 by the South Moravian branch of the Czech Ornithological Society, and last year the ban on Ignis Brunensis was addressed by the ČIŽP. However, these facts have been repeatedly ignored and disregarded by the city’s management,” said Milada Dušková of Nesehnutí.
In a statement, Jiří Morávek, general director of Snip & Co, the production company behind Ignis Brunensis, said that the festival’s permits are dependent on “repeated sampling and monitoring of water quality after fireworks, air quality, etc.”, which he said have never recorded any exceeding of permitted limits. He also drew a distinction, in terms of the negative impacts mentioned in studies, between “uncontrolled and spontaneous firecrackers and street pyrotechnics” and “professional fireworks activities by certified experts, which use effects certified and permitted in EU countries.”
The statement adds, however, that “the Ignis Brunensis production team is not indifferent to the comments of environmentalists, and therefore a number of measures have been taken,” including the gradual shift of the festival from May to the end of June, the shortening of fireworks shows, the limitation of “artillery” and some other types of effects, and the increasing use of drone shows to replace the shorter fireworks displays.
