FIREWORKS TO BRING THE OPERA FESTIVAL TO AN END ]
THE Opera Festival fireworks display which was postponed due to a Yellow weather alert, will be held on Sunday night next, November 5, at 8 p.m., after the curtain has come down on the 66th international event.
The fireworks show which usually takes place on the opening night, has been dogged by controversy this year after the Festival failed to apply to the planning department of Wexford County Council for a licence to have more than 5,000 spectators on the quayfront.
In the absence of planning approval to regulate the crowds, the Festival issued 5,000 free tickets which were quickly snapped up by members of the public from a selection of venues including Council offices, the National Opera House and the Arts Centre.
These tickets are valid for the postponed fireworks display next Sunday night and only ticket holders will be allowed onto the quayfront during the event.
‘All arrangements will remain as before. Those with tickets to the viewing area on the quay are asked to retain their tickets and they will still be necessary to gain entry to the defined area which includes the pedestrianised part of the quayfront,’ said a Festival spokesperson.
However, access for the general public to other areas of the quays including the public roadway and adjoining areas, will not be restricted and will not require a ticket. ‘No person will be denied access to the quays,’ said the spokesperson.
In light of the quayfront restrictions, the Festival have suggested a number of alternative viewing areas which are popular with spectators, including Wexford Golf Course in Mulgannon, the front car park of St. Peter’s College in Summerhill and Sarsfields GAA Club in Park.
The Festival spokesperson said these vantage points have become so popular that it was decided to designate them this year as officially recommended alternative areas to view the fireworks.
The fireworks will take place after the final Festival production of Risurrezione in the National Opera House which is starting at 5 p.m.
There will be traffic restrictions in place on Wexford Bridge from 7.45 p.m. and around the quays from 7.15 p.m. and skippers and vessel owners are asked to remove boats from an exclusion zone with access to the Ferrybank slipway limited to emergency vehicles only and access to Ferrybank Quay limited to valid permit holders. People are asked not to park on the quays.