Published: Less than 20 min ago
For almost 40 years, Eje has fired rockets above Gävle in particular.
But this year’s were the last.
– When we had finished shooting, we stood and laughed together, says Eje Berglund.
A tear has just rolled down Eje Berglund’s cheek. The last New Year’s rocket has just gone off and an era has arrived.
– It’s a bit sad, that’s all. When we had finished shooting, we stood and laughed together, says Eje with tears in her throat.
The day already started at nine in the morning when Eje and his cronies started setting up the afternoon’s celebration. But despite several decades of experience, Eje ran into the patrol just hours before the show was to start.
– An hour before, it was a bit of semi-chaos because it was so windy. It was a bit of extra work. But with half an hour left, I was calm, he says.
– Then the show went exactly as I wanted. Maybe that it blew out towards the sea a little too much, but but.
Up to 40,000 spectators
He also talks about the feeling just before everything is about to start.
– I can say that when I press the first play, where I’m a little nervous. I know it goes away, the whole electrical system works. There is always extra excitement, says Eje.
When the party was over, the jubilation knew no bounds. Something he himself sees as a nice appreciation.
– You saw how many people there were today. We counted last year at about 20,000, but there weren’t this many people out then. I can imagine that it was somewhere between 30-40,000, you have to see that as a good estimate.
– And the cheering afterwards, not to be missed. Really lovely. Then the earmuffs came off, you have to believe, he says.
Environmentally friendly rockets
This year’s New Year’s rockets were also in the larger team. And lavishly, at least SEK 400,000, says Eje.
– We haven’t done anything this big since we did the millennium in Stockholm. I can say that it was about the same size as when we were at the water festival, he says.
– We assumed from the beginning that we would be Sweden’s largest, but that could not hold us. We added a little extra and it became the biggest in the Nordics.
– We keep track of all colleagues and what they do and where they are, so there is nothing strange about it. We know what kind of budgets they have, he says.
Eje also points out that his history with fireworks started as a “boyish streak”, but that it then develops more and more. Over the years has also encountered some resistance from people who don’t like what he does.
– The fireworks themselves are not a danger to the environment today because they are so clean these days. Everything that was talked about before, with lead and such, it’s gone now. Then we draw a lot of people and many come by car, and that is the big environmental culprit, you could say. But that’s how it is at all big events, he says and continues.
– Litter yes. But those are private fireworks. People don’t figure things out after themselves. We clean up after ourselves. Leaving the site in an unnoticed condition.
“Now it’s definitely over”
This year’s show also offered some real rockets.
– There were actually two huge ones. One was a palm tree and the other was with a gold pendant. And also a third one with some blue flowers in it. The three were the biggest.
– 12 inch bombs, they weigh approximately 13-14 kilos and then we shoot them up to a height of 200-250 meters so it has time to glow before it comes down to the hill, he says and believes that the largest one is as big as four football fields.
For those hoping for a comeback next year, Eje assures that 2022 was the last New Year’s celebration he organized.
– No, no, now it’s definitely over, he says.
– I am ready to retire now, since we have got rid of our premises. We can’t do anything this big anymore. Now my son is taking over and he’s a filmmaker so now I get to carry tripods and lights, it’s fun.