Germans rush to stock up on fireworks as sales start ahead of NYE

German shoppers have been rushing to stores open at midnight to buy their fireworks supplies for New Year’s Eve, which can make some German cities look like a war zone during the start of the year celebrations.

In Meppen, in the Emsland region of Lower Saxony, not far from the Dutch border, a long queue formed in front of a store open early on Monday. You could see people with shopping carts waiting in the cold for the doors to open.

In the port city of Bremerhaven, many people waited all night outside a fireworks manufacturer that began selling Monday morning. Many came in groups and passed the time with games and music.

There was also a rush in Hamburg, where more than 100 people queued for supplies.

“At 5:30 a.m. [0430 GMT] “We had a queue of 100 to 130 people, and it is not getting smaller, but rather getting longer,” fireworks dealer and pyrotechnician Oliver Graetzer told dpa. Graetzer offers around 250 items.

In the town of Kehl, just across the border from Strasbourg, police officers were pelted with fireworks by an unknown person while monitoring a large rush at two low-cost stores.

The new year traditionally starts with a bang across Germany, with millions of residents lighting firecrackers and rockets in private venues, alongside massive spectacles in major cities.

German law allows the sale of pyrotechnic items nationwide during the three working days before New Year’s Eve, starting at midnight. Online stores are also allowed to deliver pre-ordered fireworks to customers’ doors during this period.

The setting off of pyrotechnics is only permitted on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, although additional restrictions apply in many cities, where the use of fireworks is only permitted between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m.

It is illegal to light fireworks near churches, hospitals, children’s homes, retirement homes and buildings that are particularly susceptible to fire.

Partygoers regularly suffer serious injuries, sometimes even death, from handling pyrotechnics, homemade explosive devices and powerful illegal fireworks known as “ball bombs” considered particularly dangerous.

Carelessness with fireworks cost five men their lives on New Year’s Eve in Germany last year.

According to an analysis by health insurance company AOK, the number of hospitalizations due to injuries caused by fireworks on New Year’s Eve over the past 10 years averaged around 530 cases, around 2.6 times higher than on normal weekdays and even around 4.4 times higher than on average weekends.

Every year, medical experts, police officers as well as environmental and animal rights activists call for a ban on the sale of fireworks, echoed by Berlin firefighters on Monday.

“We are in favor of any form of regulation,” fire department spokesperson Vinzenz Kasch told public broadcaster RBB news radio. He recommended that restrictions start by limiting sales “because the problem is the irresponsible use of New Year’s fireworks.”

The Pyrotechnics Industry Association (VPI) expects merchandise sales to increase by 10 to 15 percent compared to last year. According to its own figures, the industry recorded a turnover of 197 million euros ($232 million) in 2024, compared to 180 million euros in 2023.

In Meppen, a young man sitting outside a store early Monday morning said his budget for fireworks was 500 to 600 euros. He expects many customers to come from the Netherlands, where a ban on fireworks for individuals will come into force on January 1 after a surge in violence in recent years.

According to a new survey by the TÜV association, around one in five German residents (22%) plan to set off private fireworks to mark the New Year, while three-quarters (74%) will not.

“It is a minority who set off private fireworks, rockets or other pyrotechnic objects on New Year’s Eve,” said TÜV director Joachim Bühler.

The survey, carried out by the opinion institute Civey, revealed clear differences between age groups, with 43% of 18-29 year olds and 39% of 30-39 year olds saying they wanted to use pyrotechnics during New Year’s celebrations.

On the other hand, 29% of 40-49 year olds set off fireworks, compared to 10% of those over 65.