Well, aficiandos of Spanish fireworks must have been very happy last night!

My favourite part of the display was the very artistic and tasteful choregraphy of the Nutcraker Suite. Extremely sensitively realized with an incredible feel for the music. Truly outstanding.

Competition is certainly going to be fierce this year if this first competition-proper display is anything to judge by!

Paul.

i watched it yesturday

i think its was great, during the display it was very creative and well presented

the only thing that bugged me thro, it was the ending, there was 2 sort of ending one with the music and it was the strongest and the other was free style which i thought was very pretty!

the ending wasnt strong enought, but that was acceptable since they used huge bombs during the display, i know now that the public dont always look at the endings, but i think the ending is an important part, it leaves us in a different feeling

Paul and Enkil,

Well, I just read your report and I have to say that I was really impressed with what Igual did last night.

What I liked the most about it was the different colors that were used throughout, especially those thunderous salutes that they used in the ending. I thought that it was outstanding.

I also thought that the fireworks were very well synchronized throughout and plus, the music went very well with the fireworks, let alone the great choice of music.

I also loved the way they used the lower fireworks in some segments. I don't know if you guys noticed, but almost every segment was closed with a bang! That's what I like, and it's typical in a Spanish display.

Pretty much for me, it was the color, brightness and the variety of fireworks used throughout almost every segment, so it doesn't get too boring. I particularly liked the double hearts and circle star shell effects. The show was very well choreographed, as well.

They stayed at a rather quick pace later after the beginning, which is what I like to see, and it keeps the crowd excited.

As for the finale, in my personal opinion, I thought that it could have been a bit better with intensity, with more color in addition to the thunderous salutes at the end. Don't get me wrong, that was a fantastic ending and I knew they would do something like that! I knew Spain would impress us! All in all, it was pretty intense, but not quite to my expectations to leave me breathless. This is not a major criticism, though. I remember in 2001, when they did their ending back then, I thought it was more intense, like you're in a parallel universe, with that faux finale and then the real thing coming with hell breaking loose! I thought I was going to collpase after that! I think they did do a faux finale last night because everyone started to leave, but then the fireworks starts going again. It reminded me of 3 years ago. The show was extremely well done, none the less! Spain is my favorite country!

And yes, Enkil, you're right. The finale is an important part of a display because that's where everyone gets anxious to see what they're going to do, especially Spain! I know it's my favourite part! But, yes, they used quite a bit of bombs throughout. In fact, there was a part where it seemed like the finale. It was the segment that was really bright and huge shells were constantly fired.

In all, a great start to the competition. I can see that it's going to be hard for the judges this year. I can tell you that last night' s show deserves the platinum Jupiter! It was almost, or if not, flawless! Now don't forget, we still have another Spanish firm to go, which is Caballer! We're lucky this year! Like I said before, the Spanish really know how to excite an audience.

As for the weather, it was one of the coolest nights for me since I've been attending the competition. It's rare for me to see people with wind breakers and blankets to keep themselves warm on June 19th!!!! The display made you forget about it, though. I was also worried about the winds being too strong and the fact that it could've affected the time for the display to go off. All day I observed some pretty strong gusts in excess of 50-60km/h, at times! This did play a big role in cooling off the surface temperatures and, as a result, produced a much cooler air mass later on in the day, thus making it cold by the time they subsided at around just before the display started. It had a lot to do with that cold front that past through southern Quebec yesterday while it coincided with the more humid air mass the day before, which in essence, caused the winds to pick up as the day progressed. This is why it felt so cold last night and that's why we've been experiencing below normal temperatures for the past 24-36 hours! Thankfully, they died off in time!

It was also a nice treat for my brother's birthday! He really loved the show last night! My birthday happens to be on July 21st, when France is playing! It's nice to have my birthday fall on a fireworks day, especially for the 20th anniversary!

It's looking tight already this year and I can see that there's definitely going to be dissapointment!

Regards,

Trav.

Paul,

You said in the Spain report: "and then shells of strange moving wiggly tourbillons zig-zagged across the sky." My difinition of them is like looking at sperm under a microscope hunting for eggs to get next to. So, the next time you see these you can call them Spain Sperm. Agree?

(Iowa Tom says: A little humor there.)
(And you say: Ya, very little.)

Go Sperm! No, I meant Spain.

Iowa Tom

Tom,

actually I know the sperm shell effect very well, but what I was describing was different to that. It was quite a different sort of wiggling, different to serpents and different to any other tourbillon type effect I've seen. It went very well with the glissando in the music at that point and wasn't used again in the display.

Cheers,

Paul.

Paul,

What did you think of the finale for Spain, compared to that of 2001's? It was really good and intense, but not quite like in 2001, in my personal view, with that incredible faux finale and the real thing. That's just me, though. It's not that I didn't like it, it's just I found it a little less intense. I liked the ending a lot, in fact, and I loved the way they designed their entire display! As you say in your report, it was the classic finale that everyone was expecting. I have more details in my review in my previous post. I guess you can read more about it, there.

So, tell me what you think.

BTW, I just loved those gold-glittering girandolas and all the beautiful colors used throughout, I mean it's so dramatic! I'm glad Spain used them, and at a steady pace!

Also, don't forget, we still have one more Spanish firm, which is Caballer!

Regards,

Trav.