It would be interesting if the 25th Edition was also the final edition
Paul, are you crazy?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Six Flags is losing a lot of money at the moment - they already divested themselves of most (if not all) of their parks outside the US (except for La Ronde). It is entirely possible that they will walk away from La Ronde at the end of the 10 years or even before. Of course, the park infrastructure will still be there so maybe someone will buy it or it will return to the City of Montreal (who only leased the land after all). But unless Six Flags's corporate fortunes pick up, don't be surprised if this happens. I also doubt we'll return to 10 displays next year - one reason we only had 9 this year was because attendance the previous year was lower than predicted. I have no idea what the figures were like this year but the park certainly didn't feel full very often.

Paul

Hey Rovira!

Do you work for Ricasa/Ricardo Caballer?

If that's the case, might as well enjoy the competition to the fullest until 2010. I hope that the 25th anniversary will indeed be of the same idea as that of the 20th held back in 2004.

I also doubt we'll return to 10 displays next year

I stated that as well in my previous post for mostly the same reasons. However, maybe we'll get lucky and score 10 displays anyway.

Trav.

Oh that means that theres a possibility that we'll see a recruit form france hehe!! i wish that it would be prestatech! That's sad that the competition might not last some more!! Oh i would love to see thos videos form 1999, 2000, 1998 !! I would love to see performance pyrotechnic assiciates shows specially their cinema show!! Ofcourse it would alway be interesting to see the shows by ipon, caballers, sunny, weco, syd howards, kimbolton, rozzis, marutamaya, and lacroix

Your wishes may just well come true over the coming months As for the competition not lasting, I have no idea if that will be the case or not. I'm confident we're good to at least 2009, but it gets harder to predict after that. Of course, the revenues at La Ronde would go way down if it wasn't for the fireworks competition so it would be somewhat counterproductive to cancel it. The only problem is if the park closes entirely. At least when the city of Montreal sold the park they were sensible enough to stipulate the competition must be preserved. So we should be safe. But when accountants are in charge, often all that is seen is the cost and not the value. But still, the Government of Quebec is effectively a sponsor right now since Loto Quebec is effectively part of the tax department if you think of it

Paul.

I also doubt we'll return to 10 displays next year - one reason we only had 9 this year was because attendance the previous year was lower than predicted. I have no idea what the figures were like this year but the park certainly didn't feel full very often.

Paul, summer 2007 wasn't the first time that a schedule has only 9 shows. Since many years, we enjoy 9 or 10 shows. This is the main reason why I don't rule out a 10-display schedule.

I don't know how reliable is the information that lower attendance was the reason for the 9-display schedule in 2007, but I have to admit that it makes sense. Though we don't have exact figures, it is obvious that the attendance is lower, year after year.

I cross my fingers for 10 shows next summer, but I'm afraid that you may be right.

Fred

The only problem is if the park closes entirely.

Though this scenario is possible (Six Flags closed Astroworld 2-3 years ago and Cedar Fair just announces the closing of the amusement park section of Geauga Lake, OH), it would be very surprising.

According to various sources, La Ronde remains profitable and there is no other amusement park in the area (the closer are Great Escape, NY [a 3-hour drive] and Canada's Wondeland, which is a 5-hour drive from Montréal). If Six Flags doesn't want to continue with La Ronde, I suspect that the company would sold rather than close the park. A more dramatic scenario would be a bankrupt of the company.

Fred

Have you ever considered releasing a video every two weeks?? heheheheh!!! just trying to play with ur mind !

I think that this competition is one of the thing that makes montreal a special place! And most pyrotechnicians thinks that this competition is the most prestigous in all pyromusical competitions! It just doesnt make sense if they remove it after 25 years!!!

They should also make the length time of the displays shorter without making the budget smaller!. So that we could get more quality displays with more products! hehhee!! And if they do that you might get the finales of your dreams hehehe!!!

They should also make the length time of the displays shorter without making the budget smaller

I'm not sure. The length time of the displays is an important feature which makes it challenging to compete in Montreal. Most other competitions require a shorter show (25 minutes or less). Doing a 30-minute one is very difficult, because longer is the display, more challenging it is to produce different effects and to avoid boring the audience.

Once, Jim Souza told me an interesting thing about this. He said that doing a 5- or 10-minute pyromusical show is not very interesting because you don't have time to build an entertaining story. Fifteen to 20 minutes is the best: it is interesting and not too difficult. Doing a 25-minute show is difficult. But doing a 30-minute is very difficult. Adding 5 minutes in order to reach 30 minutes is much more difficult than going from 20 to 25 minutes, because the designer is really pushed to the limit.

So I believe that the duration of the show is an important thing which explains that Montreal is the most prestigious competition.

Fred

I think one of the best aspects of This competition is the lenght time of the displays. From my point of view 30 minutes (or more) are perfect to do a coherent display and to appreciate all aspects.

In montreal (and this is another greta thing about the competition) the Theme is very important, and with less than 30 minuts it's difficult to do a display with a coherent theme.

I totally agree with Fredbastien when he said : So I believe that the duration of the show is an important thing which explains that Montreal is the most prestigious competition.[i][/i]

In Chantilly, Cannnes, Hannover, Yokohama...the lenght time of the displays are over 20 or less minutes.

----------------------------------

One more thing: From my point of view, in Montreal, the fireworks companies display a lot of material. I've never seen so many pyrotechnic effects in other competitions. You should think the displays are 30 minutes long.

The official web page says that in each show the companies can't fire more than 700 kg. I don't think it's true.

Moreover,It is estimated that each contestant launches an average of 4 000 components, but there have been shows with as many as 5 000 pieces of all shapes and sizes. So I think 4000 or 5000 components are more then 700 kg. I think it's enought.

The 700kg NEQ is the amount of fireworks that the competition organizers will pay to transport. Competitors are free to ship more if they want, but at their own expense. The NEQ value on things like candles, cakes and one-shot effects is relatively low compared to their gross weight. As for number of components launched, this is also a misleading number. How is a 10-shot bombette candle counted? Is it 10 "components"? Certainly 10 4" shells would be a quite different effect. With a few 600-shot cakes it's very easy to get the "number of components launched" into the range of thousands. It says nothing about the quality of the display though!

I'm happy the displays are 30 minutes - when I see other displays / competitions, it's always an anti-climax when they finish after 15 or 20 minutes. We definitely get spoiled in Montreal. Having designed a few smaller shows myself, I know how challenging it is to fill the time in an interesting and non-repetitious way.

Paul.

Personally, I refuse to believe that a fireworks competition of this magnitude could just simply vanish. Whether or not it comes to that following 2009, there's no sense worrying about it now until that time comes, in which case there's no guarantee that it will in fact disappear anyway.

With regards to longevity, I'm well aware of the shear difficulty of producing a 30-minute display while avoiding in being overly redundant and keeping the appeal of the audience altogether for the time being. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do even if all displays were to be cut by even one little minute! I could cope with a 20-25 minute performance, but after witnessing 30-minute performances for 18 years now, it would most certainly feel awkward, and the notion of an anti-climax would likely arise in my mind upon closing. I also echo the sentiment that we are truly spoilt here in Montreal when it comes to fireworks!

I'll be posting some additional predictions in the near future. Nice to see the place so active at this time of year - I'm not really used to it.

Trav.

I just wanted to see what would be your reactions if the display would be 20 minutes long! I guess it really does show the company's talent if the displays are 30 minutes long! I'm still expecting the new competition to be better than the last two years competition! According to the comments before 2006 and 2007 you have been getting atleast 6 jupiter entry displays! I would love to see another competition like that this coming season! Hehehehe!! Upto now its hard to guess who would be joining as soon as the countries joining are released im sure that this place would even be more active as it would be more interesting to guess the companies joining!

Hahaha i tihnk that it's good that the forums are active at this time of the year! I'm sure that the schedule would be released pretty soon! Oh if you haven't realized one more week before a new video will be released i wish that it would be the canadian display or luso's 2005 display! or maybe soe classic! hehehehe!!! ! I'm very excited to know the new schedule even though iknow that the chance that i would be seeing the competition is a bi small i'm still hopin to see atleast some of them this coming years!! I hope it won't end yet hehehe!!!

Vander

I've actually noticed that the schedule has been coming out increasinly earlier in recent years, so it's curious to see as to what date it will be released this year.

And yeah, I'm looking forward to the new monthly video. It would be nice if we had access to some video archives of clips from all performances since 1985, and then post them on the forum.

Trav.

Did the new video come out yet?? i might have missed it!

Not yet - I was away all week. Take a look this evening and there will be something there

Paul.

oh ok!! that's cool!! no pressure hehehe!! evening there = morning here!! hehehe!!

I can't wait to see that video this evening! I'm just as impatient as you, reflections_of_earth.

Thanks again, Paul.

Trav.

I think most of us are specially when it comes to videos

vander

I can't wait to see that video!!!!!!!!!

One question yo teh Admin: How many people download the videos (avarege)?

Not very many people download the videos - something like only 10-15 people as far as I can tell. Anyway, the webstats for this site are publicly viewable:

http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/webstats

Cheers,

Paul.

Anymore hints with the coming schedule?? When will it come out?? hehehe!!

So here are my guesses (or more so wishes) for this years version of the Montreal competition:

Canada: Garden City Display Fireworks
UK: Spitfire Pyrotechnics
China: Sunny
USA: Pyrotechnico
Germany / Poland / UAE: Flash Art
Australia : Foti
Spain: Pirotechnia Zaragozana
Hong Kong: Glorious Group
Italy: Pirotecnica Scarpato

I feel all these companies can compete at this level given their histories and past acheivements.
It would be awesome to get Foti back for another go, I know it was only a couple years ago, but they dealt with some shipping issues and still pulled an amazing display off.
With all the muscle and brains at Glorious, it would be nice to see them give Patrice the reins for another competition display at Montreal.
And who doesn't want Sunny back?!?!

I actually have a feeling that we will get a Chinese competitor next season, especially considering that next year holds a lucky day in Chinese culture - that being "888", or August 8th, 2008.

Trav.

I don't know why, but I am really anxious for this years edition of the Montreal competition. I think we should see something in the next three weeks!
I have to travel to see the displays, so hopefully we get some monsters back to back, make a little trip out of it.

Maybe they would invite interemede of france also! intermede is good also hehe!! Also pirotecnia scarpato of italy!