A town hall in the countryside paid only 288 euros for the fireworks organized on New Year’s Eve, while Constanța Town Hall reserved 120,000 lei for the pyrotechnic show alone.
In Cluj-Napoca there was a show with drones and lasers PHOTO: FB/Cluj-Napoca City Hall
Dozens of communes in Romania, not to mention cities and municipalities, put interesting sums at stake for the pyrotechnic show organized on the night between years. In many localities it was the only public expenditure for New Year’s Eve, while in others even larger sums were spent to bring well-known artists on the stage. Other town halls paid in a single contract for the pyrotechnic show and the performance of the artists who sang for those who came to spend New Year’s Eve in the city center. And if the spectators who came to see their favorite artists certainly enjoyed the show, when it comes to the fireworks things were different, in many areas of the country the efforts of the organizers were canceled by the dense fog.
Pyrotechnic show of 111,480 lei in Florești
The largest amount spent by a rural town hall for fireworks, which I found by looking for data on the SICAP public procurement website, is the one allocated by Florești Town Hall (the famous town near Cluj). For pyrotechnic services there is a direct purchase of 111,480 lei (22,296 euros), the amount being much more than what the town halls in the urban environment could afford or were willing to spend. They also spent large sums: the commune of Sânmartin in Bihor – 37,180 lei (over 7,400 euros); Blejoi commune, Prahova – 39,999 lei (7,999 euros); Ariceștii Rahtivani commune, also from Prahova – 75,000 lei (15,000 euros); Giroc commune, from Timiș – 32,000 lei (6,400 euros); Cristian commune from Brașov – 40,000 lei (8,000 euros); Sântandrei commune, from Bihor – 38,655 lei (7,731 euros); Blejești commune, from Teleorman – 30,000 lei (6,000 euros).
At the opposite pole, in Olt county, a rural town hall accepted an offer of 1,440 lei (288 euros) for the fireworks. It is Brastavătu town hall. Also in Olt, and not far from Brastavătu, at Gura Padinii, the fireworks cost 5,500 lei (1,100 euros). In Sadu commune, from Sibiu, 15,000 lei (3,000 euros) were paid for fireworks; at Piscu Vechi, in Dolj, the New Year’s Eve fireworks cost 10,000 lei (2,000 euros); in Nușfalău, in Sălaj – 12,600 lei (2,520 euros); the villagers of Coșna, Suceava, paid 10,000 lei from the taxes collected by the town hall, etc.
Even in small towns, such highly contested moments have been organized in recent years by animal lovers and environmental activists, and some of the town halls have even spent large sums. In the town of Borsec the pyrotechnic show cost 3,000 euros (15,000 lei), in Sânnicolau Mare – 20,000 lei (4,000 euros), in the town of Pucioasa – 28,890 lei, in Tălmaciu – 15,000 lei, in Târgu-Lăpuș – 9,000 lei, in Nucet – 10,000 lei, in Vikovu de Sus – 30,000 lei, in Turnu Măgurele – 33,613 lei.
Brăila has published a procurement notice for a laser show, the amount up for grabs being 40,000 lei (8,000 euros).
Municipalities upped the ante, increasing the duration of the fireworks and, most likely, the complexity of the show. Constanța seems to have spent the most, 120,000 lei (24,000 euros), paying for a complex music and light show. The show performed by the artists was added to the expense for the fireworks, which cost another 240,000 lei. Bacău City Hall reserved 111,000 lei for fireworks; Brașov City Hall paid for a 12-minute fireworks show – 67,226 lei; in Oradea, the fireworks cost 84,033 lei; in Arad – 66,700 lei; in Satu Mare – 54,621 lei; in Târgu-Jiu – 84,000 lei; in Campulung – 20,000 lei; in Slatina – 35,000 lei; to Roman – 42,000 lei; in Calafat – 10,000 lei, etc.
In many cities the town halls have spent, in addition to the sums mentioned for the fireworks, other sums to pay the artists called to perform on the night between years. To the 35,000 lei for the pyrotechnic show, in Slatina, for example, 520,000 lei were added for the artists in the concert. For New Year’s Eve in Campina, 199,500 lei were spent, while in Craiova, for example, the New Year’s Eve show included the performance of the artists who went on stage, but also the music and light show and the pyrotechnic show, the total amount being 638,841 lei.
