Fireworks mark Forth Road Bridge 50th anniversary

The fireworks display for The Forth Road Bridge festival. Picture: JP

The seven-minute display came after hundreds of people took part in a torchlight procession over the crossing.

Crowds lined the banks of the Firth of Forth for the display, which was the first ever to take place on the bridge.

The fireworks, including rows of giant thistles, a number 50, and a 1,000-metre ‘waterfall’ from the deck, were planned to light up the sky at 10.06pm in recognition of the structure’s 1,006m span.

More than 12,000 fireworks were launched from 95 firing locations along the bridge which was closed to all traffic in both directions between 10pm and 10.30pm.

Before the spectacle, 2,014 torch-bearers formed a kilometre-long “river of fire” across the landmark, led by massed pipe bands and a contingent of Vikings from Shetland’s Up Helly Aa fire festival.

As the countdown to the fireworks continued, more than 4,500 people joined the celebrations at the official bridge party which featured performances from Big Country and Bwani Junction.

The fireworks finale marked the end of the 10-day Forth Bridges Festival which saw events including a rally of 1,000 bikers crossing the bridge and a flotilla of 180 vessels passing underneath.

Councillor Lesley Hinds,convenor of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, said: “Just as a new bridge emerges from the water, these 50th anniversary celebrations have inspired us to see the Forth Road Bridge in a new light - as a thing of beauty and an engineering icon as well as an important piece of transport infrastructure. We have also gained a new appreciation for the men and women who built the bridge as well as those who keep it safe and open to traffic today.

“This was an ambitious programme of events and I am delighted that the team has pulled it off so spectacularly.”