I have exciting news! I have the 2013 schedule in front me of - but it's under embargo until 8am tomorrow morning. I will set up a blog post to automatically post it tomorrow morning. Check this link to see it - it will be the first post when it appears:

http://montreal-fireworks.com/ReportBlog/

Paul.

That is a great way to start my day! I will make sure to arrive in office early enough to be in front of my computer at 8:00am!

Fred

I anxiously await the 2013 schedule tomorrow morning. Fantastic way to commemorate the end of February.

Thanks for the update, Paul.

Trav.

Just saw the schedule can't wait for Mirnovec, Zaragozana, Vulcan, Rozzi and finally........... Pirotecnia Scarpato/Pyroemotions!!! I'm sure you're all gonna be in for a treat

Best Regards,
Vander

While I had predicted the 2013 line-up wouldn't include any Gold Jupiter winner of the past decade (suspecting they will be invited to enter the contest for a Platinum Jupiter in 2014), I'm still very surprised with the actual list: beyond the first years of the competition, we have never seen as many as six recruits in a single edition. As a consequence, it's very difficult for me to expect anything, the 2013 vintage will be a surprise box! I hope Vander is right!

The themes mix traditional ideas (love, movies, classic and pop musics) with some potential innovations (artificial intelligence is especially intriguing; I first thought "Four Seasons" would be on Vivaldi's music, but it may be something else). I also note the Italian entrant is a team made of two companies: Pyroemotions and Pyrodigit, which has occurred only two or three times.

U2 is another group whose tribute may gather enough people to have a capacity audience on the closing night.

Finally, I imagine the nightmare of the organizers to deal with so many (and new) restrictions regarding the calendar because construction works on bridges across the area. It wasn't enough to have a strange schedule last year because some works on Jacques-Cartier bridge, now they have to deal with the impact of construction works on other bridges, according to a previous post. When the organizers don't have to deal with a problem on one side, they have to fight on other fronts (tobacco sponsorship, environmental lobby, project of police services to bill for security costs in the area, internal issues with 6F's headquarter like the possible delaying of shows because inclement weather conditions, transportation issues of pyrotechnic material, now construction works, etc.). The current schedule is unfortunately confusing and, I'm afraid, won't help with the attendance issue. They are truely dedicated to continue in such conditions!

Fred

Just a quick note on the Italian dual-company entrant: Pyrodigit is a firing system company that does a lot of work in Europe. I think this is the first time that I've seen such a company called out like this. One further note is that Pyroemotion's full name is PyroEmotions di Scarpato - a company who WOWED everyone with their display at last year's Symposium in Malta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDss06w_3cs

I think we're in for a fantastic year again!

Paul

What an interesting schedule for 2013...Like Fred, I am quite astonished as to how many new participants are involved in this year's competition. Indeed, it would appear that a possible trend is emerging with new-entrant frequency, where we had seen five for 2012, and now six for 2013, including an increase in new countries appearing since 2006.

Though I successfully predicted six of the eight countries for 2013 (Hong Hong/China, Australia, Canada, England, United States, and Spain), I (and most of us, I'm certain) never would have guessed that such a large amount of recruits could be packed into a single season. As such, this will surely be an interesting season, and I am hopeful that our new entrants will, to the best of their ability, attain and surpass the elevated threshold of competitiveness necessary to be successful at our competition, and that each display will bring new innovative ideas, awe-inspiring segments, and perhaps some memorable finales!

In terms of schedule structure, indeed, it is confusing, though not to the same degree as 2012's layout. However, because of it, it is interesting to note that, very likely, for the first time in the competition's history, the last two displays for two years in a row have been scheduled to take place on the exact same days.

With respect to the countries, it is somewhat surprising that France isn't part of the listing, and Canada and the United States aren't back-to-back for a second year in a row, something that has not occurred since 1999. It is, however, fantastic to see the return of Spain, as well as more regular participation from Italy over the years (reminiscent of the 90s).

The diversity of the themes is very good, and the thematic selections all "seem" very inviting. In particular, I am (and STL, I'm sure) looking forward to "Four Seasons", by team Canada, as well as Hong Kong/China's "Born To Be Wild", and Spain's "Languages of Love". The dual Italian team's display should also prove to be interesting.

All we need now is for ideal weather conditions to be present for all of our participants, both during setup and on fireworks nights. As with the 2013 schedule, the weather should also have an interesting story of its own to tell for this coming Spring-Summer.

Trav.

Should be an interesting year - I like that there's so many new competitors! Makes it harder for us to guess what will be a "don't-miss" show!

The schedule is finally up on the reports/schedule page now - I was away all last week so it was a challenge to get the announcement out on time!

Paul.

Thanks for the update, Paul.

Really, the homepage has been accumulating quite a history over the years! Indeed, it is a nice collection.

Trav.