Annual Macau International Fireworks Display Contest

[Guest fountainhall]

The 24^th International Fireworks Display Contest in Macau takes place on the four Saturdays in September – 8, 15, 22, 29 – with the finale on China’s National Day, Tuesday October 1. Two teams compete on each evening and a specially recorded soundtrack accompanies each display.

 

This year the teams come from France, Italy, Australia, Japan, USA, Portugal, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and China.

 

http://www.macautour...tail.php?rid=63

[Rogie]

I see teams from China and Japan have occupied the first two places in 2010 and 2011, and Japan won in 2009. I wonder what these countries have that the others do not? It can't be biased judges as I am sure if that was the case a Chinese judging panel wouldn't be too keen to see Japan, of all countries, win. In any case I assume the judging panel is an international one.

 

This is one of those things you have to see for yourself in order to appreciate. It looks boring to me and I wouldn't bother to go all that way to see it, but it wouldn't surprise me to find if I did go I'd really enjoy it. It could hardly have been going for over twenty years if it wasn't any good.

 

Have you been FH?

[Guest fountainhall]

No, not the Macau displays, but I have watched many in Hong Kong during the annual lunar New Year celebrations. These are totally incredible - far more impressive (and expensive) and on a much larger scale than most others I have seen on television. They also last for over 20 minutes as shown on this vdo (skip the first 90 seconds of Cantonese intro - in fact, I turned the sound right down throughout as I found both the speech and music boring!!).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOcSklXo6JY

 

China has been using fireworks for millennia. So they have vast experience. I think Europeans only started using them when Marco Polo brought some back during the Renaissance.