Watch history’s biggest firework explode and break the Guinness World Record

Engineers in Colorado have broken the Guinness World Record for the Largest Aerial Firework on Saturday 8 February 2020. Steamboat Fireworks, from Colorado, USA, spent seven years on their attempt. At 2,800lbs, their firework beat the previous record, set in the United Arab Emirates, by more than 400lbs, and weighed the same as a mid-sized car. "We invested hundreds of hours into this project, and we anticipate that we will enjoy the satisfaction of this success for months to come," said project manager and financier, Tim Borden. To beat the record, the team fired the 62 inch-wide firework out of a steel tube that was buried in the side of Emerald Mountain in Steamboat Springs. Travelling at 300mph, it was almost a mile above the ground when it was detonated, in front of a crowd of hundreds of onlookers. The project ‘took quite a bit of thinking’ "When you think of it on the physics level, to get a ton of anything up in the air with one explosion takes quite a bit of thinking," Borden said. After a failed attempt in 2019, the team decided they had to create a protective shell around the firework to prevent it from exploding as it left the steel tube. They spent eight hours a day for a month wrapping the projectile in 60 miles of tape. The sound of the explosion took seven seconds to reach spectators, who were positioned at a safe distance across the valley. Borden dedicated his group’s achievement to the City of Steamboat Springs, especially including the area’s public safety organisations - firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians and the Routt County Search & Rescue team. “We had to work closely with these people to ensure that our firework posed absolutely no danger to people, wildlife or structures in the area,” Borden said. He also thanked the members of his team - Ed MacArthur, Jim Widmann and Eric Krug, saying they were crucial to the success of the project after making significant changes after the 2019 failed attempt. “Without their dedication and their expertise, we could not have succeeded in this project,” Borden said. “I would also like to thank my wife, and the team’s families, for their patience and constant support during this time-consuming project.”