New Year’s Eve fireworks: This is how much money Germans spend on firecrackers

Louder, bigger, more colorful – that’s what the long queues across Germany have been all about since 12:01 a.m. Because Since early Saturday morning, bangers, firecrackers and rockets have been allowed to be sold for the New Year. For one or another pyro freak, almost an entire month’s salary is lost.

Bastian Gaiser München starts the new year with a huge bang. The owner of two e-bike shops bought six composite fireworks for his New Year’s Eve party with 20 friends from specialist retailer Himmelsschreiber Feuerwerke in Unterhaching (Bayern) bought. Cost: 1400 euros. “That’s a lot of money, but you only live once,” says the pyro fan.

Customer in Saarland spends 2,800 euros on fireworks

Saarlander Oliver Wetzstein has been selling firecrackers and rockets professionally for over 25 years – on the Internet or directly at his warehouse in Großrosseln. There are over 9 tons of fireworks items stored there: “On average, around 180 euros are paid for firecrackers and rockets. But my current leader is a customer who spent 2,800 euros on his New Year’s Eve spectacle.”

Firecracker money instead of Christmas presents

Böller fan Fabian from Halle/Saale (Saxony-Anhalt) had a special idea for his amazing purchase: “This year I asked my family for cash for fireworks instead of presents for Christmas. It was worth it. 555 euros were raised. I converted them into rockets and firecrackers at the fireworks outlet. Silvester can come.”

Queued for loading for 14 hours

For Elias F. out Berlin-Weißensee, New Year’s Eve is the highlight of the year. That’s why he waited in front of a shop for 14 hours to be one of the first to pick up his assortment of firecrackers.

He had already reserved his rockets online for 1,200 euros and spent another 400 euros on site. He wants to leave a similar amount of money with the discounter for pyrotechnics: “Silvester is the most beautiful thing in life for me.”

200 meter queue in Wilstorf near Hamburg

Fireworks dealer Oliver Graetzer (54), otherwise an employee: “For us, sales started at 6 a.m. in the Schützenhaus in Hamburg-Wilstorf. When it started, the queue was around 100 meters long. We got two big truckloads of fireworks.”

In the meantime there is also said to have been a 200 meter snake. Some people waited up to 90 minutes before they could buy batteries.

Markus Klaucke (employee): “I bought eleven batteries for 1018 euros. I love Fireworks. It’s my hobby. I make myself and others happy.”

Batteries, however, are out of the question for Jannine Cardinahl. “I bought 30 rockets for around 70 euros. Batteries are too complicated for me. I think it’s nice to launch the rockets in the garden.”

Lara Vetterlein and Karl Rinneberg, high school graduates from Erfurt (Thuringia), don’t fire on a large scale, celebrate with five friends and, above all, have bought rockets.

“We don’t want to make a huge noise with our fireworks. Because we own dogs ourselves, we know how frightened the animals react to the bang. We spent 45 euros, which is reasonable. However, we also have friends who have invested 3,000 euros in firecrackers.”

231 rocket shots in two minutes

This year, excavator driver Manuel Köhler is treating himself to the really big 25 kilo battery. That’s 231 rocket shots in two minutes. “The battery costs 333 euros. But it’s already making an impression on us in the village.”

Last year, sales of fireworks items on New Year’s Eve in Germany generated sales of around 180 million euros, according to “Statista”.

Fireworks ban zones

Important: Popping is not allowed everywhere on New Year’s Eve. Pyrotechnics are prohibited nationwide in the vicinity of hospitalschildren’s and old people’s homes, churches or fire-sensitive buildings such as half-timbered houses. Cities also have the option of closing other areas to firecrackers.