Thankfully, the 35th edition of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, L’International des Feux Loto-Québec, is about to begin! Here are some information, “fun facts,” and comments to entertain us before this new season. Don’t hesitate to add yours !

Overview
- The 2019 edition will start on Saturday, June 29. This is the earliest opening date since 2014.
- This is the 6th year in a row with a 8-show format, including two off-competition displays and a line-up of six contestants. Previous editions used to feature 9 or 10 displays, with 7 to 9 contestants per year.
- The most important change this year is about the seating process. Former silver and bronze sections are merged into one general admission section.


The shows
- The Italian and Canadian shows are themed around the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 spaceflight to the Moon. BEM Feux d’artifice will fire its show “A First Walk on the Moon” on July 20th, the date of the anniversairy of the landing and the first human walk on the lunar surface, which happened the evening of July 20, 1969, at 10:56pm Eastern Time.
- The setup of the Canadian show will reportedly require 5 days of work by a team of 25 people (https://www.journalsaint-francois.ca/bem-va-celebrer-la-nuit-ou-lhomm e-a-marche-sur-la-lune/
). This piece of information needs to be considered with caution : the figure likely include at La Ronde pyro crew which actually support the competing team during three days.
- Grupo Luso Pirotecnia show is certainly an anticipated one. This Portuguese team is famous for its special structures. La Ronde website reports that a floating structure has been designed for this specific show. “Stay tuned” will present a soundtrack of famous TV shows, including the local “Passe-Partout” children program (1977-1991), which came back on air in February 2019 for the greatest enjoyment of a new generation of viewers !
- Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics (Australia), which was scheduled to appear in 2018, is finally back in Montreal. The company has already won a Bronze Jupiter (2011) and a Silver Jupiter (2008), will certainly struggle to reach the highest position on the podium. Their 2011 show was pivotal to the storyline of a National Geographic television documentary, which can be seen here.

The people
- Assuming he is going to return, Michel Lacroix is the official voice of the Montreal fireworks competition for the 30th season.

Que tombe la nuit ! Que la fête commence !

Fred

Exciting times! As usual, I will be interviewing the teams, staring with Hands on Thursday 27th June.

Watch this space for news as it happens!

Paul