CEBU City will soon have a new Guinness World Record as the attempt proved to be a raving success. A total of 125,801 Rockets were successfully launched in just 17 seconds in a historic event organized by Pyroworks, the most dynamic pyrotechnic supplier in Cebu.
“It was a proud moment for Cebu City! Our efforts at carefully following the specifications set by Guinness World Records for this attempt paid off! We can now proudly say to the world that Cebuanos are more than capable of competing in the pyrotechnic industry worldwide with our technical skills and ingenuity that is incomparable,” said Brian Benjamin Lim, Cebu Fest Chairman and owner of Pyroworks.
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The Pyroworks team will now gather the needed requirements to submit to Guinness World Records for confirmation of the new record. These requirements include video and photo evidence, print and broadcast media reports, witness statements and others.
The team started counting and loading the rockets the day before the attempt. It took approximately two hours to load just one rack with 8,000 rockets. All safety measures were in place during the launch - the launch area was cordoned off with danger and no smoking signs, security personnel made sure no one approached the launch area and firetrucks and men were on standby - as we started loading and counting the rockets since May 7 and 8:00 a.m. Loading and counting was finished at around 3:00 p.m. on May 8. 8,000 rockets were loaded per rack with a total of 16 racks - totalling 128,000 rockets.
Out of 128,000 rockets launched 125, 801 were successful - only 2,199 failed to launch . Much better than the 10% contingency rate Pyroworks International had expected.
The body of rockets took flight under 17 seconds for the 125, 801 rockets successfully launched under the allotted 30 seconds.
Likewise the engineer assigned, Engr. Motmot Anoba calculated to have reached the required 30 meter height as well by calculating the distance from the flags placed within the launch site.
Witnesses and experts confirmed the counting and loading process before the launch on May 8. A digital timer sponsored by Seiko was installed prominently to show the time. The record allots a maximum of 30 seconds only to launch all the rockets. Any rocket still launched after 30 seconds will automatically forfeit the attempt.
The current Guinness World Record with the “Most Firework Rockets launched in 30 seconds” is 56,405, in an attempt organized by Dr Roy Lowry (UK), at the 10th British Firework Championship in Plymouth, UK, on August 16, 2006.
Another contender for the record but is yet unconfirmed by Guinness is Bournemouth and Boscombe Piers that launched 110,000 fireworks in 6.5 seconds on August 20, 2009.
“The world record attempt will bring recognition to the ingenuity of our local talents. It will prove that we are very much capable of competing with players of the global pyrotechnic industry. The attempt will show that we can even break a world record at a fraction of the cost. Thus I urge Cebuanos to come down and enjoy this once in a lifetime spectacle that no one else in the world has witnessed before,” Brian earlier said.
The record attempt on most number of firework rockets launched was held on May 8, Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at a special launch area several meters away from the Sugbu administration building in SRP. Its focus was on the number of rockets launched and not much on the display.
A longer and more entertaining display was presented at the same venue with the Grand Fireworks Show at 9:00 p.m.
Pyroworks also represented the Philippines in several International Fireworks Symposiums and Events and is now internationally recognized as they are certified by the Pyrotechnics Guild International, Inc. keeping well up-to-date with the newest innovations in the Pyrotechnic industry. (PR)
