The winners of the 23th Montreal International Firework Competition, L'International des Feux Loto-Québec, are Pains Fireworks from England (Gold Jupiter), Innovative Pyrotechnik from Germany (Silver Jupiter) and Pyro Spectaculars by Souza (Bronze Jupiter). The awards ceremony occured on Saturday, July 28th at La Ronde, the amusement park home to this renowned contest. It was followed by the traditional off-competition closing display designed by Panzera S.A.S.

 The Gold Jupiter, the most prestigious prize in the firework industry, is awarded to the English team.  Pains Fireworks tempted the jury and the audience with a display entitled "Day and Night", one of the most successful show performed in Montreal in the past few years, according to some loyal observers. With a soundtrack including popular songs (like the Beatles' "Here comes the sun", U2's "Beautiful Day", and the Doors' "Moonlight Drive") and a giant ring which produced several effects throughout the show, Michael Jones and Guy Deeker have reached a perfect balance between originality and tradition. Musical and pyrotechnic transitions between segments have been carefully designed, synchronization was flawless and the mini-finale around the 10th minute of the performance was outstanding. Pains Fireworks had not produced a display in Montreal since their first appearance in 1985. It is to be hoped that this British team will not wait for 20 years before doing a new one!

The "new" entrant IP (Innovative Pyrotechnik) bet on the traditional way to do a pyromusical display to arouse enthusiasm of the audience. The designer Joachim Berner had already worked on many awarded shows in Montreal (with Lünig, Nico, Ipon and San Tai). "Feel the Unusual Emotions of Original Fireworks" was based on classical music and movie soundtracks. Without a thematic concept, the success of the German show rests on the quality of the pyrotechnic effects and outstanding synchronization with the music. The latter was obvious during a note-synchronized segment with small mines bursting with each note played with a xylophone, a Berner's trademark!

Pyro Spectaculars by Souza, which didn't reach the podium with his first appearance in 2001, has achieved his goal with a new strategy built around a single and popular theme, Elvis Presley. "An American Idol" has been designed with a 100%-Elvis soundtrack. Some segments are unforgettable, like the spinning wheels and the dice made with shells of three-dimensional cubes on the music of "Viva Las Vegas", the scramblers (mines of huge go-getters), and a sequence of well-synchronized gerbs along the lake. More than 5000 cues have been planned by Jim Souza and his team to perform this show. Strong performances made by opponents of the American team and some small weaknesses (some pieces appeared at the wrong time, and many people thought that the Elvis theme was too easy to do) prevented Pyro Spectaculars by Souza to win a Gold or Silver Jupiter. It should be for the next time!

Firms from eight countries have competed in Montreal from June 20th to July 25th. The other contestants were Pirotecnia Igual from Spain, Lux Pirotecnia from Mexico, Pyromagic Productions from Hong Kong (China), Fireworks Spectaculars Canada, and Féérie from France. In addition to the German team, the Mexican, Canadian and French contestants were also new entrants to the Montreal Competition.

The Jupiter prizes are awarded by a popular 19-member jury. Each display is assessed according to the pyromusical design, quality of the pieces, synchronization and general appreciation. Since 1985, 209 displays were performed in the framework of this competition by 68 firms from 23 countries.

Text and photos : Frédérick Bastien

For comprehensive reports, more photos and to discuss about this competition, please visit Paul Marriott's website, montreal-fireworks.com.