2000 l'International Benson & Hedges Montréal Pyromusical Competition Report
Closing Show Montréal Cartoons Sunday July 30th, 2000
Panzera S.A.S., designed by Pierpaolo Serafino, music by Piere Walder, traditional electrical firing
"The Montréal 2000 season will close brilliantly with a fireworks display performed to the sounds of the most famous French and American cartoons. Listen for the familiar music of Woody Woodpecker, Inspector Gadget, The Flintstones and the Pink Panther. This highly colourful offering, staged outside the competition, designed by the competition's artistic director, Giovanni Panzera, is preceded by the presentation of the Jupiter awards."
After the award of the Jupiters, a perfect summer evening gave
the ideal conditions for the season's closing show. With a musical
theme of forty one segments of the theme music from famous cartoons, the
display was a very enjoyable conclusion for the closest competition
I can remember. More than two thousand Roman candles were used, of which
one thousand were ten-shot bombettes. Panzera showed off the
latest designs, with some delightful silver kamuro bombettes
and colour to crackle bombettes. We were even treated to
silver kamuro nautic mines and use was made of the large Ferris wheel - this
having flares placed in every carriage and the perimeter of the wheel
covered in colour-chaning foutains, making what must have been the largest
rotating pyrotechnic wheel (although not self-powered) ever! The finale
was in the pure Panzera style of huge barrages of salutes and shells,
the final few seconds being an ear-splitting deafening crescendo of
huge salutes, bringing the season to a fantastic close. An announcement
was made that the 17th edition of the competition will run
next year.
Paul's Rankings for 2000
The level of the competition this year was the highest I've ever
seen. That there were no technical problems at all (save a couple
of extremely minor ones which were virtually un-noticeable), is
a great tribute to the hard work and dedication of the pyrotechnics
crew at La Ronde. In previous years, any technical problems made
the choice of judges somewhat easier. This year, however, it is
extremely difficult to judge. This is especially true because of
the use of computerised firing systems for all of the display, save
one. Excellent synchronization was something novel only a couple of years
ago, now we expect it to be the norm. All of the displays this year
would have won a Gold Jupiter in previous years, the level of the
competition really was that high. All of the displays were very different,
with some interesting musical choices, from pure rock-and-roll,
through 1980's Frankie goes to Hollywood to a more traditional classical
selection. I think it will be music selection which finally determines
the order of the winners. Before I present my personal selection, and
my prediction of the Jury's choice, a small review of each display.
Country | Firing System | Comments |
Japan | PyroDigital | Brilliant material, particularly the pattern shells and multi-colour changing shells. Seamless musical selection integrating Japanese, modern and mainly classical. Flawless synchronization throughout. The use of a parachute shell unfortunately must take them out of the running for a Jupiter. |
Switzerland | Traditional electrical | Despite the none-computerized firing, synchronization was flawless, a testament to the skill of Toni Bussman. A mixture of classical and modern music, with an interesting finale of gold kamuro and brocade. Some fantastic multi-colour changing multi-pistil shells and crackling shells. |
Italy | PyroDigital | Pure rock-and-roll music worked well with the perfect synchronization. Fabulous multi-break shell-of-shells and flower and double-petalled tourbillon shells. Most exciting finale of the competition, but perhaps slightly light in the rest of the display. Smoke effect on the water was an interesting idea, but would have been even better with strobes to highlight it. Music choice will not please all the jury. |
United States | FireOne and MagicFire | Incredible synchronization due to the MagicFire® electronic time fuse. Brilliant colours, though the show was very shell-dominated. Music choice worked well, being a mix of many different genres and should appeal to the Jury. Has taken the art of pyromusical synchronization to a new level. |
Australia | PyroDigital and FireOne | Very fast-paced display with some fantastic comets and mines, and not a moment of dark sky. Flawless synchronization, particularly well demonstrated by the comet shots and mines. Music choice will not please all the jury. Because of the fast pace, the finale seemed a little bit light, but the fabulous rainbow mine front was superb. |
Spain | PyroDigital | Largest amount of material in the competition this year, with fabulous colours, including some dazzling blues, an amazing lemon-yellow and beautiful pastels. Brilliant nautic devices, great girandolas and even rockets gave this display the widest range of material. Synchronization was good on the whole, but in a couple of spots shells kept firing after the music stopped. The mixture of music will appeal to the Jury. |
Germany | FireOne | Another display with a single theme, this dance-oriented display had the widest variation in rhythm and tempo. Some really nice material, particularly the double-sphered crackling shells and the huge waterfall at the end was unique. Perfect synchronization emphasized by the choice of music. Once again, a different type of finale from the Italian-style. The best set-pieces in the competition. The music should appeal to the Jury. |
Canada | FireOne | Fantastic debut from the BEM team. Excellent choice of product and the choice of music worked well and will appeal to the Jury. Nice variation in rhythm and pace throughout and it was nice to see large shells used throughout the display, rather than just the finale. Synchronization was good, though some brocade shells burned out a little bit early. Some parts of the display had perhaps a little too much happening at once, detracting from the kamuro and brocade shells. Despite the first visit of the BEM team, definitely on a par with all the other competitors. |
This year I've found it almost impossible to choose the three top displays, let alone choose the order. All of the displays this year would have won a Gold Jupiter in previous year's competitions, the level really was that high. My three favourite shows, based on music, product and general feeling of excitement were Italy, Spain and Australia. My three favourite shows based on pyromusical theme and synchronization were United States, Germany and Canada. My three favourite shows based purely on material used were Japan, Switzerland and Spain. So I've covered everyone, which I think is fair since all the shows were so different and so enjoyable. Moving on to what I think the Jury will do, this is more difficult. The twenty five members are across the spectrum of age and sex and so the musically focussed shows such as Italy and Australia will probably not do so well with the Jury. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the following Jury order:
- Gold Jupiter - Spain
- Silver Jupiter - Germany
- Bronze Jupiter - Canada
One final note, just to say that I consider myself a reporter on the competition,
not a critic. The combination of fireworks and music excites different people
in different ways. My musical tastes are different to other people's and this
inevitably influences my enjoyment of a display. This year some displays
which I personally really liked, others disliked because of the music. My job,
as your humble reporter, is to describe what I saw and report the music
used. The Jury has the difficult job of deciding which three should "win".
In fact, just being invited to compete sets these companies apart.
Official Results
The official results are:
- Gold - Weco Pyrotechnische Fabrik, Germany
- Silver - Pirotécnia Caballer, Spain
- Bronze - Syd Howard Fireworks International, Australia
- Special - Rothman's Benson and Hedges, for 16 years of supporting the development of the pyrotechnic art at the Montréal competition
Thanks to the public relations people of La Ronde for the official
press release material, shown in white.