Refund offered after mist ruins Edgbaston fireworks

People who bought tickets for a fireworks display at Edgbaston cricket ground would be refunded after the event was hit by poor weather, the venue said.

About 8,500 people attended the "fireworks spectacular" at the stadium on Saturday but mist and lingering smoke severely reduced visibility.

Ticket holders posted videos on social media, calling for their money back.

Edgbaston apologised and said staff were left "gutted" by the event.

• "I spent £100 to go but things soon went wrong"

Mist and lingering smoke blocked the fireworks display on Saturday night

Stadium chief executive Stuart Cain said the weather had "conspired against" the display which was "normally amazing".

"It was misty and the atmospheric conditions were such that smoke from the fireworks failed to dissipate," he explained.

"Smoke hung around in front of some stands and, while some spectators in the Hollies were able to see the show, views elsewhere were badly impacted."

Other displays in the region had similar issues, he added, "but being a stadium, we suffered more than most".

"I'm really sorry about this and we will be giving people an automatic refund of the ticket price."

Those refunds, for all ticket buyers, could take up to 28 days to process, the venue said.

Many spectators said they were "disappointed" by the show after views like this

Several clips shared on X showed families standing up to leave in the middle of the show. Scores of people used the platform to demand the return of their entrance fee.

Edgbaston said it worked with an experienced pyrotechnics company to stage the event, adding it would continue to investigate what happened to ensure similar issues did not arise again.