Fireworks and a pitch-black sky are a match made in heaven. The contrast between the bright lights and the darkness of the night-time sky makes the colours of fireworks really pop, and it’s what makes displays so very special.

Now that the year’s longest day, the summer solstice, is nearly upon us – does this mean that it’s too light to hold a display? At normal display times of around 8-9pm in the evening, it will still be full daylight outside. This can mean that the dazzling effects are dulled or missed altogether.

The obvious solution is to hold your display later, when night has fallen. However, this presents another problem – the law on when you can and can’t hold public firework displays.

Fireworks and the law

It is against the law to hold a display between 11pm and 7am unless it happens to be Bonfire Night or New Year’s Eve. Some local authorities also have their own rules about times when it is and isn’t permitted to set off fireworks. It’s always important to check these laws before planning a display of any kind, whether public or private. If you are caught breaking them, you could face fines of up to £5,000.

How to defeat the summer solstice and hold an amazing display

The good news is that it is perfectly possible to hold a crowd-pleasing display even at the height of summer. In fact, the 1^st Galaxy Fireworks team have organised many professional displays when the days are long. There are a few important things to remember:

• Check the sunset time. It varies all over the UK at different times of the year. For example, in June sunset is around 10pm up in Edinburgh, 9.40pm in Manchester and 9.30pm down in London. You should still have plenty of time to hold a display before the 11pm cut off, even if you leave it a short while to get dark.

• Keep it short and dynamic. Fireworks displays in summer are often shorter than in winter because of the rush to beat the 11pm cut-off. The key to success is to trim down your display but pack more in. This doesn’t mean disappointing the audience with a 3-minute show where everything is fired at once though. Cut the display down to 10-15 minutes and plan it very carefully so that it has more impact, dynamism and excitement – so that no one will even notice that it’s a bit short.

• Enjoy the sun! Plan your event around a warm summer’s evening, inviting attendees to enjoy food, drink and other activities in the last light of the evening before finishing off the night with a spectacular display. This gives your guests more value and also makes the fireworks the crowning glory of a great event.

• Embrace the sunset colours. When the sun is setting after a glorious summer day, it creates breathtaking colours in the sky. This, along with the fading light, can actually enhance the beauty of your display – so work with it!