I would like to know wich was for you the best season in Montreal Fireworks Competition.

Wich is the best display you have ever seen in Montreal ?¿

And the worst season ?¿

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The display don' have to be a winner, for exemple in 2005 from my point of view the best displays were the show from Portugal (Luso Pirotecnia) and the sweeden one.

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Thank you....and If you have some video of the displays you're talking about please share it . !!!!!!

Rovira,

That's a tough question, as there are many performances that I've witnessed and enjoyed greatly under different circumstances, so it's hard to pinpoint an absolute favorite. Each year was unique in its own way and was therefore always enjoyable in that regard, most notably in recent years where new innovative ideas were being constantly brought forward to the audience (such as the 2005 season).

However, if I had to make a list of the most memorable displays in terms of finales, it would be along the lines of this (in no particular order):

1-France 1993
2-Spain (Caballer) 2004
3-Italy 1994
4-Holland 1995
5-U.S.A 1995
6-Canada 2002
7-Spain 2001
8-Italy 1998
9-Panzera 1994
10-China 1993
11-Canada 1996
12-France 2005
13-Spain 1996
14-U.S.A 1997
15-Italy 2004
16-Spain 1994
17-U.S.A 1992
18-Panzera 1999
19-Canada 2003
20-Spain 1990
21-South Africa 2006
22-Italy 1997
23-Panzera 1996
24-Spain 1991
25-Sweden 2005
26-Canada 2007

I'm sure there's a few more that I did not consider, as they may have slipped my memory. If I do remember, I'll add it to the list. However, if I had to rank the most impressive finales from that list, they would be like this as my top finishers, but once again in no particular order:

Spain 2001------>This was massive , especially the way Igual fooled the audience.
Italy 1998 & 2004--->They were very similar, though 2004 was slightly better.
U.S.A 1995--------->This was like a doomsday finale.
Panzera 1994 & 1996----->Like the others, I thought I was going to collapse during these climactic moments.
Spain (Caballer) 2004------>This was like a lengthy time bomb (check out Pierre's video).
Panzera 1997-------->I think many spectators lost their voices that night...
France 1993------->A very LOUD ending and quite lengthy (still the loudest overall show to date for me).

In terms of the most exciting display that I've ever seen all the way through would definitely have to be Australia of 2000. Actually, this was probably one of the only performances that was literally almost nonstop in firing-I loved that to no end.

The best dramatic transition in colors that I've ever seen was the U.S of 2003 at the beginning of their finale.

The best shots at creativity came from Sweden 2005, U.S.A 2003, Portugal 2002, and England of this year (2007), among others. I also remember hearing everyone say wonderous things about Germany 2004 with their grand waterfall and the live orchestra (they won that year), though I did not see this display, unfortunately.

The loudest show that I've ever witnessed would seriously have to go to France of 1993. Also, all that paper and cardboard were memorable, along with the elongated deafness that went with the constant loud explosions-I remember my car was covered in black ashes and alarms going off constantly during the show.

The most boring display I've ever witnessed was South Korea of 1994.

I wish I could find the videos of all the displays I've listed, especially for the 90s.

Here's Italy 2004:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VHAv5Q3oAw

Paul had provided a link for us for Panzera 1999 on the same day as this year's closing show:

http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/Video/panzera1999_finale.mpg

And here's TRae's video of Canada:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_PqDYH-o0

Pierre had videos of both France 2005 and Spain (Caballer) of 2004, but I can't seem to find the one with France 2005. The 2004 video list from Pierre doesn't seem to be functional anymore. Maybe Paul can fix it or something, hopefully.

Love the thread, by the way. I tried a similar topic almost two years ago regarding solely memorable finales, but it didn't accumulate any posts and therefore ended in complete failure, unfortunately. Hope your attempt for a round two works out!

Trav.

OH MY GOD....That's what I call a very very very complet report.


Thank you very much.


I've heard something about the golden age of Montreal fireworks competition. ( When it was ....which period I mean.)


I've seen all videos about the montreal fireworks competition in youtube so..... However thank you .

It could be great to have the videos from Groupe-f in 2005 and Caballer in 2004.


Thank you for the information . !!!!!

Hi Rovira,

It was no problem, my friend. The "golden age" of the fireworks personally for me was during the 90s (most notably with the number of spectators and the general popularity in finale vehemence), especially in the early 90s, since the atmosphere and nostalgia were already developing when I was introduced to the competition.

As for the videos, I think my friend, Enkil, can lend you a hand, as he has the videos of 2003-2004 loaded separately (I think), including Pierre's (he captured Caballer's finale of 2004 and that of France 2005) (Groupe F). Paul may also be able to provide you some assistance as well.

Trav.

would it be possible to request some full videos of some shows that i liked base on the reports?? I just want the two shows by luso, anything from vicente caballer or igual (specially the one with the faux finale), anyone by ipon, oh group f's show, oh netherland's show in 2004, what else lemme think... the 2003 american and canadian displays, oh also australia's, anything by performance pyrotechnics, argentina's 2005 displays! there might be some more1!

As of now the displays that i like the most that i watched the full video of is ricardo caballer's show 2005, germany's 2007

Luso do have a DVD of their 2002 show - pehaps they can be persuaded to sell copies of it! I might be able to help here too. I have a full video of Atlas's show in 2003 and Royal's.

So there's lots of "member only" videos that will be uploaded during the cold dark months that we have to endure before next year's competition. As I promised earlier, there will be approximately 1 video per month (subject to sufficient space on the webserver).

Hope this is enough of a teaser for everyone!

Paul.

wow! that's really teasing! i got to say! It really sucks being far away from canada! Maybe you should make it one video per 2 weeks or 1 video per week! hehehehe! that would be enough times for you to upload everything you have before the new competition starts hehehehe!!

Paul,

Is there any way we can view some videos of the displays during the 90s, or even 80s? I always thought that La Ronde, or some other source would keep records of each display since 1985. Just a thought, but it would be radical to see those displays again. I can't find anything on youtube, besides the most recent ones that go back till about 2003.

*And guys, I did forget to throw in Spain of 1996 and South Africa of 2006 as memorable finales. I think I'll just edit my last post and throw them in there.

Trav.

When I was in Montreal in 2005 I went to La Ronde office to look for some videos or dvd about the competition...

A very nice girl ( Bobbie-Lise) told me that La Ronde produce a DVD for each company with the entier show... however she told me that the videos are not for sale .


I recorded the video from Ricasa. But I think everybody have seen this video in pyroplanet. I couldn't record the other displays because my video camera didn't work.....

Rovira,

Thanks for the information, but I just wish there were some way to view them all. I always looked online to see if there were any archives in which we can download certain shows from certain years since 1985, but no luck.

And to add to my response to your earlier question about the golden age of Montreal Fireworks, I felt that the 90s were the best times. In addition to the intensity of displays, the higher volume of spectators and other interesting aspects, for most of the 90s, the "Special Jupiter" award was also present, which always made things much more epic since it gives another competitor a chance of winning a prize, while making it even more fun to make predicitions of the winners.

Trav.

Heh, actually, I should have added another section called "Country with the worst consecutive luck with weather", that being Canada! Seriously, I'll never forget those years from 1995-1998, but especially 1995-that was one of the heaviest rains from a storm that I can recall. All you could see were the flashes coming from the fireworks and nothing more! At times, you couldn't differentiate what was lightning and what was fireworks! It sort of reminded me of Italy 1994 under that regard as well...

Trav.

Il est très difficile d'établir un palmarès des meilleures performances sur une longue période. La mémoire étant sélective, je crois qu'on tend à embellir certaines performances en oubliant leurs lacunes et en magnifiant leurs forces. Néanmoins, pour ma part, le spectacle de Luso Pirotecnia en 2002 et ceux de Weco en 2000 et 2004 occupent une place particulière dans mes souvenirs.

the "Special Jupiter" award was also present, which always made things much more epic since it gives another competitor a chance of winning a prize, while making it even more fun to make predicitions of the winners

L'idée du "Jupiter spécial", qui consistait à le remettre à un individu ou une organisation ayant contribué de façon remarquable au développement de la pyrotechnie était bonne. Cependant, en remettant plusieurs fois ce trophée à des "amis du régime" (le commanditaire Benson & Hedges, un fonctionnaire de la Division des explosifs au ministère des Ressources naturelles, un autre de la Société du parc des îles, de même qu'à deux des principaux conseillers de la compétition [Pierre Walder et Giovanni Panzera]), ce prix avait perdu toute crédibilité et était devenu une grosse farce. Je ne pleure certainement pas sa disparition.

Fred

Fred,

Do you think they will consider bringing back a Special Jupiter again in the future, or something similar?

Speaking of that, I wonder what ever happened to good old Benson & Hedges...My fondest memories took place when they were here.

Trav.

Video Luso pirotecnia in Montreal (2002). Only 2:11 minutes but High quality.


http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=CxRJ1FUEkAk&mode=related&search=

As I can see it was a very creative display...I hope you enjoy !!!!!!


(Maybe the Admin could talk to the video's owner to see the full show...I've tried)

I think we forgot to mention the finale of Luso 2002. It left me speechless! You can see it in the video provided by Rovira. I agree, Luso 2002 was also a very good display.

Yeah, I remember Portugal 2002, as well as its finale and faux finale cluster. I think, though, that Canada of that year was a little more powerful, as I recall, but the Portuguese finale certainly deserves mention on my list.

Trav.

Nice video there. I can't say that I witnessed the display firsthand, but using my imagination to fill in the blanks from the finale... that must have been awesome!

And also, I've always thought that Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" would be a great song for a segment in a pyromusical - nice to see that Luso agrees!

Thanks for the link Rivira.

Sorry I can't really contribute to the discussion on memorable displays/finales of the past as this was my first full year at the competition.

WOW!

Watching this (too short) video makes my day! I remember that many people around me thought it was a tragedy that Luso Pirotecnia didn't win the Gold Jupiter that year. They deserved the first prize. The ring was so creative and made so many different effect. And the finale, with Vangelis' music, was long and powerful. I remember how the audience, that night, was in a state of shock.

Rovira, thank you for this link!

Fred

OK Luso fans, I have put up their 2005 finale for your viewing pleasure in the Members Video section. I do have the entire DVD of the 2002 show but don't know if I can put it all up or not. Just to tease everyone One day it will be there I'm sure - you'll all just have to keep checking the Members Only Videos section

Paul.

This is fantastic!

Thanks so much Paul.

Thank's for the vid !!!!!!! I'll be waiting for the Luso's show in 2002 !!!!


I leave you another video: The Canada's finale...one of the best finales this year. ( Only the finale)

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=EOz3vBPYBeQ&mode=related&search=

------ I think we should change the name of this Thread because my iintention was to talk about the displays and now we're posting only videos... lol --------

Nice clips there, Rovira, and thanks for posting the Portugal 2005 ending, Paul.

It would be a dream come true if we could get all the finales I've listed above, as well as others that I did not mention and were worthy of being on the list.

Edit: This is the best thread ever!

Trav.

Paul, I think you already uploaded that Luso video a few years ago. I'm not sure, but I'll check.

Thanks anyway!