Well, it is already that time to begin posting our predictions and personal choices of the Jupiter winners of the 2018 edition of the Montreal fireworks competition. As such, feel free to post here your choices. Some reasoning would, as always, be interesting to accompany your choices, but it is certainly not mandatory!

Trav.

The 34th edition of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition already comes to a close. I can’t refrain to mention some concerns I have regarding the fate of this competition. First, the transportation of pyrotechnic material becomes more challenging. Since about one decade (maybe more), it happens that some contestants are prevented to bring their own material by maritime routes and have to use alternative pieces. However, it seems to happen more often – I do believe that 3 out of 8 shows had to deal with such challenges this year – and it was one reason underlying the unprecedented withdraw of Howard & Sons. Such problems can’t continue without having major effects on this event as well as other international competitions around the world.

Over the past few months, a study sponsored by the Regroupement des événements majeurs et internationaux (RÉMI), a lobby which promotes the interest of the organizers of major sports and cultural events in Quebec, has compared the economic impact of more than 15 events. The good news is that L’International des Feux Loto-Québec appears to be the third largest event by its economic impact among those held in Montreal. However, I do believe that much more could be achieved. Since many years, I deplore the deficit of media coverage about this event, whereas countless reports and news stories are devoted to other Montreal festivals. I do believe that people in charge of the marketing and public relations at Six Flags and La Ronde shall be much more agressive to attract media attention, for example when large displays as the Philippine and the American ones are organized, or when “personal, human stories” can be spinned to the media (e.g., the very young designers of steyrFire and Dragon Fireworks).

The ticket sales process should also be made more efficient, especially by providing the opportunity to select specific seats through the online platform. The current situation, where the system allocates seats in an “orderly” fashion, is below the standard in the industry. It would also be great to provide to everyone the opportunity to buy a package for many – or all – of the shows. And being more responsive to customers who try to reach La Ronde would be pretty basic. About one week before the start of the competition, I sent a question to La Ronde customer service through a form available on its website. I was shocked when the automated reply notified me that an answer was going to be sent within the next seven days. SEVEN DAYS! And it actually took more time than that.

It is obvious that budget cuts have impacted the event over the past years, especially the number of shows, the downsize of the official ceremony, the restriction of Michel Lacroix’s live appeareances to the opening and closing nights. However, I begin to worry about budget cuts in the fireworks shows themselves. To improve the marketing, the media strategies, the ticket sales process and relations with customers may be ways to bring more ressources to the competition. Moreover, as I already wrote in another thread, here, I believe it should be considered to reschedule the event, beginning in late July up to late August. My rationale is that the “festival market” is probably less competitive in the second half of the summer, and early sunset would provide an opportunity to schedule the fireworks at 9:30pm (or even 9:00pm), which may please to a larger audience.

All these concerns being expressed, I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend and to enjoy all these shows. As the time goes, I increasingly appreciate them. I am sure that many people work very hard to make a such event a reality, and to take up all the challenges along the road.

This year is also the 15th anniversary of this forum, which is a good hub for fireworks aficionados who want to share their opinions and be informed about what is going on with the Montreal competition. As media coverage of this event is almost nonexistent, Internet-based sources are critical to be informed about what is coming up and about the features of each display. I want to acknowledge the work done by Paul Marriott and Mylène Salvas who have voluntarily devoted time to collect and to deliver information for each display.

I was also very lucky to discuss with some contestants, and to share these fantastic experiences with guests as well as the many “fireworks friends” I see on a regular basis in the Salon des artificiers, in the grandstands, around the Ferris Wheel, or elsewhere at La Ronde.

Here are my personal ranking and my jury prediction.

Fred’s personal ranking:

1. Dragon Fireworks (Philippines) - outstanding
2. Pyrotecnico (United States) - excellent
3. steyrFire (Austria) - very good
4. Apogée (Canada) - very good
5. Giuliani Fireworks (Italy) - very good
6. Dancing Fireworks (China) - good


***
Since 1992, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition relies on a popular jury and it presents about the same number of contestants, that is, between 7 and 9 (only six since 2014). A different sort of jury existed from 1985 to 1991 and the line-up was shorter. There were Bronze, Silver and Gold Jupiter awards each year (except in 2004 with the Platinum Jupiter; nonetheless three finalists were announced and are taken into consideration in figures below). The following statistics are about the three annual winners (or finalists) from 1992 to 2017:

- 2 of 26 first in-competition displays (7.7%) won a Jupiter.
- 13 of 78 first three contestants (16.7%) won a Jupiter (never more than one within a single year).
- 48 of 78 last three contestants (61.5%) won a Jupiter (we have never seen a podium without any contestant from the ultimate trio).
- 19 of 26 last in-competition displays (73.1%) won a Jupiter.

On the basis of my own assessment, but also taking into consideration the opinions of many people I talked with, I do believe that Dragon Fireworks’ performance belongs to a specific category and the Philippines recruit will win the Gold Jupiter. I – and, I believe, many other people – would be upset with any other scenario.

For all other contestants, the situation looks more complicated and there’s no guarantee. I still believe that Pyrotecnico will be on the podium – probably a Silver Jupiter. However, I feel that opinions about the American entrant are much more diverse than what I could have imagined before chatting with other fireworks fans. For that reason, I would not be so surprised if Pyrotecnico has the Bronze Jupiter.

It is more likely that another contestant will win the Bronze Jupiter, and I do believe that the “race” is more widely open. Following the “psychological approach” to explain the aforementioned correlation, Gugliani Fireworks could benefit from the “last” position in the calendar. However, the “economic approach” hypothesizes that a such correlation could be caused by the organizers’ efforts to schedule the most promising, “safe” entrants towards the end of the competition when the audience is expected to be larger, and to avoid an anti-climactic sequence of shows. A such economic approach can’t be applied this year given the last minute change to the calendar following Howard & Sons’ withdraw. In one way, it is a good case to test the psychological approach!

Fred’s jury prediction is:

1. Dragon Fireworks (Philippines)
2. Pyrotecnico (United States)
3. Giuliani Fireworks (Italy)

There are also two separate awards - the Best Soundtrack Award and the Green Award - which are allocated by the competition organizers. Regarding the former, I favour the soundtrack of Dragon Fireworks (Philippines) and I predict that it is going to be the choice of the organizers too. I don’t make any prediction for the Green Award as it seems to be based on unknown, insider information.

There’s no “Public Choice Award” this year and I am very happy of this situation!

Fred

Gold and Silver are relatively easy to predict, but Bronze is much more difficult this year. I need further time to ponder this!

Fred: can you clarify that it's not the jury that awards the Soundtrack Jupiter?

Paul.

Unless there is a change this year, it is not the jury.

Fred

My 2018 ranking:

1. Philippines
2. USA
3. Austria
4. China
5. Italy

I didn't see Canada's display, unfortunately. I really like Philippines' display.

Here are my rankings/predictions for this year:

1) Philippines
2) USA
3) Italy
4) Canada
5) China

Did not see: Austria.

Although I didn't see Austria, I think that the Philippines and USA are the obvious contenders for first and second place. However, third place is a bit of a toss-up. The Chinese entrant is unlikely. However, I can see any of the other shows getting third place as well.

Overall, this was a respectable season with some very good entrants. It's too bad that the smoke harmed the USA show so much. However, it was not the fault of the American team.

If there is a best soundtrack prize this year, my vote is unquestionably for the Philippines.

Likewise, if there is a prize for best segment, it'd be the Mario portion of the Philippines show. (However, that doesn't exist. )

Looking forward to the final show next week. It'll be a quiet weekend without a show. However, with Osheaga this weekend, it's for the best as transportation is usually very challenging that weekend.

After attending the Montreal fireworks for well over a decade, this is the first season I have attended all of the competitive shows, so I am able to give a proper personal ranking. That ranking is:

(1) Philippines
(2) USA
(3) Austria
(4) Italy
(5) Canada
(6) China

Here some of the factors that contributed to this ordering. The smoke buildup during the USA show (I viewed all the shows from the bleachers) significantly diminished the impact of the display. Not their fault, but I have to rate what I could actually see, not what might have been if the weather had not bollixed things. That and the fact that I preferred the Philippines soundtrack gave the Philippines the edge. Austria and Italy were close - some of the Italian shells were excellent and their large relatively low shells had real impact - but the dynamic circular fan sequences that Austria used were often strikingly beautiful and their finale, while not massive, was extremely effective, putting them ahead. Canada also put on a very good show but blew it with their weak finale. Canada, why didn't you just set off a barrage of Kamuros or horsetails at the end? A pensive finish can be effective - I remember coming close to tears at the end of 'My Immortal' at the close of the 2009 Pains show. But in this case more was needed. Oh well. Overall, I think it was very fine season.

Once again, we are finding ourselves with farewells to another edition of the Montreal fireworks competition. In many ways, this was a special year, coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the Montreal fireworks forum. It is also quite astonishing when realizing that by the end of next year’s season (the 35th edition), I will have completed 30 years of attendance.

As in recent years, I must first say that after experiencing the very significant traffic congestions since 2016, it has become increasingly difficult to journey to greater Montreal from the SW West Island. Due to the more extensive demolitions of the Turcot interchange, traffic has become severe around the city, especially merging in from Highway 40 into Decarie, and then more especially from Decarie to the 720 Eastbound (not helped by the ubiquitous construction cones and detour signs placed all over city). Fortunately, we were able to use Decarie all the way up to Sherbrooke, and then work our way to Rene-Levesque, driving then all the way up to the existing parking lots beneath the bridge, near the river. This route allows us to reach the area in an average of 48 minutes from the time of departure, but returning is a different story due to the usual crowd navigation. Pre-2016, the time to travel to the same destination was 31 to 33 minutes. However, as is always the challenge, the problem is not so much getting there, but rather getting out. Indeed, when we used to be able to access the Ville-Marie tunnel from Viger Street, the time to reach the SW West Island was 38-41 minutes. Because Rene-Levesque and the tunnel are now no longer accessible reasonably quickly following the displays since the 2015 season, it takes now just over an hour extra to reach home, on average. Also, we learned that construction activities on the entry section of the bridge (hopefully temporary) from the city side blocked off our new parking lot, so we were forced to go to our new usual lot this year.

Despite the traffic issues featured by 2016, 2017, and this year, I have continued to enjoy coming to the fireworks displays routinely. I have always reminded myself how fortunate we are to still have this competition running, despite a fourth consecutive season of only eight displays. Thus, the Montreal fireworks competition still remains as an integral part of my Summer! This 34th edition of Montreal fireworks was, furthermore, an interesting one. We saw a vast range of themes across six very enjoyable displays, as well as a great range of products and effects used to represent them in a variety of ways. The level of complexity was higher this year, as compared to the below average pattern of 2017. Interestingly, like in 2008, this year was notorious for the use of horsetails, and a high concentration of other drooping effects! I was also thrilled to have a fireworks display coincide with my birthday this year, and it was double the treat because the display by the Philippines, likely the most anticipated display this year, coincided with the day! What a double treat it would be if my birthday display were to win the gold Jupiter!

Just a few words about the weather. All displays up to this point this year generally had suitable weather conditions during the 10:00-10:30 p.m., except for a light rain that occupied the second half of the Italian display. Conditions remained largely dry for fireworks evenings, but after the show presented by the Philippines, on July 21st, unstable and wet weather became more of an issue (which may extend to the evening of the closing show). This compares to last year somewhat, when six of the eight fireworks days had rainfall, but no display, surprisingly, had any rain “during” show time (the closing show last year came closest). The isolated thunderstorm during the late-afternoon to early-evening prior to the American display had the greatest weather-related impact. For three of the displays, smoke was moving towards portions of the La Ronde audience. The opening had high-altitude smoke move towards the audience (low-altitude moving towards extreme right-hand sections), while during the Canadian show, the smoke moved towards principally left-hand sections of the audience and partially central, making the display sometimes appear hazy to the left. The American display had the most dramatic smoke accumulation, as the smoke was not only moving directly towards central and right-hand sections, but also because the humidity was high (enrichment following the thunderstorm). All displays observed temperatures no cooler than 20 C, with the July 21st display having the warmest conditions (28 C) and the July 28th display having the coolest temperature (due to the cooling effect of the thunderstorm), at 20 C.

Most of the actual conditions up to this point in the Spring-Summer period were largely consistent with those specified in my outlook for the Spring and Summer of 2018 (see the link presented in the very first post of this thread). This is particularly true with respect to the number of thunderstorms received so far this year in this general area, as well as the number of strong to severe thunderstorm development days (which was predicted to be slightly above average but more tamed than last year). The Spring-Summer period was also notoriously humid, and, locally, it was quite wet where thunderstorms were repeatedly influential (such as the SW West Island). Although the outlook did specify a warmer late-Spring and Summer this year relative to last year, actual conditions turned out to be a magnification of that prediction, and we have, subsequently, received more days with 30.0+ C than expected. For the island of Montreal, July 2018 was the warmest July in recorded history for its overall temperature.

I take this opportunity to thank Paul for continuing to keep this forum/website alive and well. It was already quite an accomplishment to keep the forum thriving for 10 years, when we welcomed the 10th anniversary, in June 2013, but to do this for another five years on top of that is quite respectable! As acknowledged previously, June 30th, 2018 signaled the 15th anniversary of this forum, and, indeed, it was a special year. This 15th anniversary coincided with the visit and participation of Vander (reflections_of_earth) and his team of Dragon Fireworks. I also thank Paul for, once again, taking the time to provide us with such detailed inside information concerning each display through his interviews! I similarly extend my thanks to Mylene for all of her work in conducting her interviews and bringing us additional information! I also would like to thank Fred for further spreading his deep passion for this competition, which has led to the creation of a Twitter page that is dedicated to Montreal fireworks! Although I have scarcely used Twitter, this page has given me more reason to check in more often! Since just over a year and a half after his passing, I took many moments this year to remember Bob Burch and recognize his outstanding work in fireworks photography – as I expressed last year, his passion for the competition will forever live with us. I also wanted to acknowledge Bob’s supplying of full-length video footage for seven straight years (2010-2016) of the displays on-site for viewers who were unable to attend. In extension of this, I would like to again thank forum member, jbbank, for kindly sharing his full-length videos, with footage of the displays as viewed from La Ronde! Many thanks to our other photographers for continuously sharing their spectacular photos! I extend my thanks to all forum members for their continued contributions on the forum and continuing to share all of their thoughts and insightful commentaries of each display (and in other discussions)! Finally, I would also like to thank all display organizers for their diligent and hard work to ready all displays for us to see every fireworks night.

Below are my summaries for each display, highlighting briefly what I assessed as strong and weak aspects of the shows. Following this, you will find my personal predictions for the jury's decision, as well as my personal choices for the winners. Afterwards, for the fun of it, I have added subsequent sections for various criteria (such as best choice of music, best finales, best sequencing, etc.) and placed those participants best suited for each in accordance with my personal tastes. ***Note that I have decided to keep my individual scoring to myself.

Participating country: Austria
Company: steyrFire
Date of presentation: July 7th, 2018

A pleasant evening was present for the debutante team from Austria, including a temperature of 22-23 C, accompanied by the second least humid conditions of all fireworks evenings this year. The evening also featured the weakest wind speeds, with speeds of 5-8 km/h, from the SSE. Fortunately, with low humidity and ideal wind direction, the smoke was usually moving gently and adequately well to the right of the La Ronde audience.

This was a very good display by the Austrian team, who narrowly could have been the only European entrant for a given edition in the history of the competition. There were many interesting sequences featured in this display that brought out the complexity of the design. This was especially true with the integration of the two rings used. As a result, this was one of the most tightly choreographed displays this year and one of the most densely focused shows in terms of one-shots, just behind the Philippines and United States. The musical choice was also among the most enjoyable, likely due to the larger concentration of dance-related soundtrack (representing the theme of “Let’s Dance”). The theme was rather simplistic, however, and there were times of lesser creative interplay between the music and fireworks, limiting the creativity, diversity and, thus, pyromusical design of the show. The display could have also benefited from more soundtrack editing to make for cleaner transitions. In addition, many of the songs ended much too abruptly to allow for more dramatic conclusions and, consequently, many segments had this unfulfilling feeling tied to them. Related to this, the display subsequently needed more energetic moments, especially with respect to a higher concentration of shells to support low-level activity (shells were significantly lacking in this display, relative to other shows). The finale was, in a sense, surprisingly weak, despite the nature of theme!

Overall, this was a very enjoyable performance, which should be battling Italy for the bronze Jupiter.

Participating country: China
Company: Dancing Fireworks Group
Date of presentation: July 11th, 2018

Suitable weather conditions were present for the Chinese team. The team was greeted with a temperature of 24 C, along with the second-highest humidity level of the fireworks nights. Winds were also breezy (13-17 km/h), and from the South, allowing the smoke to move clear to the right of the La Ronde audience, and quickly.

This was a good effort by the Chinese team. The theme “Butterfly Lovers” was presumably demonstrating the story that follows Romeo and Juliet. Using only a single large piece as representation, it was curious as to how well the display would be executed. Through a series of interesting sequences and numerous large calibre shells, this show attempted to portray this love story in its own respective way. Color richness was also good in this show, and we were exposed to a range of effects as the display unfolded. This included a rich, large golden waterfall that lit up for an enduring period of time. While the theme was, in some sense, self-explanatory, however, the general elements of the theme, notably through the pyrotechnics, were elusive. Perhaps some introductory narration might have helped to clarify what was intended to be demonstrated. Synchronization was good, but it was not to the degree of elaboration shown in other displays. Also, using a single, large piece was bold, but for me, it led to moments of monotony. The repetition of drooping effects was additionally fairly high in this show.

I believe that the somewhat simplistic design and poorly understood thematic premise will cause the Chinese team to miss the podium, unfortunately. There were definitely some interesting effects, including the waterfall, but I was just drawing blanks as to their relevance.

Participating country: Canada
Company: Apogée
Date of presentation: July 14th, 2018

This fireworks evening was characterized by the least humid conditions of the season, and the second coolest temperature during a display (21 C). The winds were also pushing the smoke towards left-hand sections of the La Ronde audience, and partially central. A purely clear sky was present.

The Canadians presented a display dedicated to the theme, “Immortals”. The show had a decent range of effects and color, as well as good product quality. There were also very good variations in rhythm and pace, and this display was among some of the most exciting shows this year, though the finale did fall flat. One of the more memorable segments was “Earth Song”, where exquisite firing patterns and crescendo were demonstrated rather well. On the negative side, the show did lack a sound thematic connection and was, for me, the weakest this year. It was not clear how some of the songs were related to the theme, and the songs themselves could have sometimes been better illustrated through the pyrotechnics. At times, it felt like the choice of effects used was not always appropriate to represent some of the songs. Some songs also lasted much too long for my taste (the second half of the show), while others were too short (first half), and so some editing would have been beneficial here.
Overall, while an enjoyable display, I think the lack of a more tenacious pyromusical and technical design could prevent the Canadians from reaching the podium this year, although it still seems suitable enough for the bronze Jupiter.

Participating country: Philippines
Company: Dragon Fireworks
Date of presentation: July 21st, 2018

This was the warmest of all fireworks nights for 2018, with a late-evening temperature standing tall at 28 C, including during the display. Light SE to ESE winds (9-12 km/h) were pushing the usually rapidly developing smoke clear to the right of and also slightly directly away from the La Ronde audience and moving to far left-hand sections of the La Ronde audience. By the end of the display, a huge plume of smoke could be seen towards Northern Notre-Dame Street, so we were quite fortunate to have just the correct amount of wind speed to clear the smoke for this extremely anticipated display!

I must say that this was a REAL birthday treat that will survive and be cherished in my already deep memory bank for the rest of life – it really was so unforgettable. There were so many aspects to cover about this display that it is difficult to quickly summarize here, and I have not felt this way about a display since Italy 2013. Firstly, this was one of the most complete displays that I have ever seen since I have been attending this competition. It truly was a prize display – a rare gem, indeed. From roaring and rapid sequences of salutes along low-level to a mastery of balancing the sky at all altitudes, the show was simply phenomenal. I was already so excited when learning that the show would open with a variation of the Mortal Kombat theme song! My expectations were met and well exceeded, and it quickly became apparent that we would very likely be in for a more-than-grand display beyond that opening piece. Firing patterns were so elaborate and forcefully brought out key elements that engendered each soundtrack. There was just so much passion in the pyrotechnics – it was like every single moment of most of each song was carefully thought-out and vividly brought to life in the night sky. The Mario segment was memorable, and this display further gave birth to the most intense and spectacular finale since that 2004 conclusion of Vicente Caballer of Spain (and the 2004 Italian finale by IPON), during the 20th edition of Montreal fireworks. It brought me to tears of joy because that was a true reminder of what a real finale is all about!

While it is difficult to find significant negative points about this display, there were some effects at low-level that seemed to burst (central mines of red stars bursting into small salutes) briefly randomly shortly before the faux finale, for example. Those appeared out of place and may have been a small technical issue at the time. Other than that, the only other real negative point that comes to mind is the choice of sectioning the theme, “Of Games and Thrones” into two sub-themes – one directed at games, and the other devoted to notable films, both of which appeared to be independent rather than definitively linked.

This was easily the choice display for first place for me.

Participating country: United States
Company: Pyrotecnico
Date of presentation: July 28th, 2018

This was the first fireworks day this year to be affected by the weather directly. A strong thunderstorm was in the area just under two hours prior to display time, during the late-afternoon/early-evening. This storm produced very intense rainfall over the course of about 13-14 minutes and occasionally intense lightning, as well as magnified downbursts of wind. As expected, however, conditions rapidly improved by not long following sunset. After the thunderstorm, some pyrotechnical material was prematurely launched over the 9:20 to 9:50 p.m. period. The air also further moistened, and combined with light WSW (8-11 km/h), the show was likely to face gradually hazy conditions for the on-site audience. Because of the storm, too, this was the coolest fireworks evening (resolutely 20 C, including for display time), although the humidity was high.

For mostly spectators located at the other side of the river, this was a grand display to enjoy, especially after all of the excitement from the previous display, on July 21st. The wind was strong enough to push the smoke directly away to allow very good viewing of this enormous and very complex display. Some of the most splendid choreography was showcased in this display, entitled “Rock Loves….Redux”, and we were treated to the second-best opening piece (for me) of all competitors this year. The sequences were magnificent, as was the product quality, and we witnessed a spectacular range of effects used to elaborate each and every song selected for this revisited theme. Photoflash integration was notably memorable. The “The Sound of Silence” piece was majestic and was the most emotionally-guided segments of the season for me. That said, I would have liked to see more use made of the three towers, such as what was brilliantly executed during the opening segment and perhaps less repetition with the arch patterns that were used. Also, while clearly not the fault of the Americans, it is certainly a pity that the weather did prevent suitable viewing from La Ronde’s side. And while minor, the thunderstorm did have an impact on some firing positions, which did lead to eventual periods of asymmetry, including at the very beginning.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable show, and, for reasons specified above, I suspect that the show will be awarded with the silver prize.

Participating country: Italy
Company: Giuliani
Date of presentation: August 1st, 2018

The only display to experience some form of rain “during” a show this year. Indeed, by about halfway into the display (10:17 for those at La Ronde), a light rain began falling, followed by a very heavy rainfall rate not long after the conclusion of the display (a narrow miss!). Temperatures of 24-25 C were present, though modest cooling occurred deeper into the light rain event. The moisture level was also very high, making this the most humid fireworks evening of 2018, and with breezy winds (15-19 km/h), this was additionally the breeziest of all fireworks evenings (just slightly faster than the speeds during the Chinese show). The winds were from the South, so the smoke was moving quickly to the right of the La Ronde audience.

Considering the narrow time frame to ready this display, this turned out to be a very enjoyable show by the Italian debutante team, and it was also the most traditional and classical of all competitors this year. The show was entitled “Italian Dream”, which featured many enjoyable sequences over the course of the display, as well as good product quality and a reasonable range of effects. However, the color arrangement was somewhat more restrictive than other entrants (likely because of the reliance on reds, greens and whites), and the theme was not always so clear through the fireworks and through some of the selected songs. Additionally, creativity was mostly exemplary during the second half of the show, while the first half mostly adopted somewhat more of a rudimentary firing style to define the selected music. Further soundtrack editing might have also benefitted for cleaner transitions, at times, as well. My favorite song/segment in this display was “Bambola”. “Figaro” was also well done, although it was a little lengthy.

Likely to be a contender for the bronze Jupiter this year, closely racing with Austria.
In general, the Philippines had the most “complete” show, very enjoyable soundtrack, and a fairly well understood theme, even if one is not overly familiar with video games. Also, the display usually had a clear view and was not obstructed by smoke like the American display was (for La Ronde, anyway). The display satisfied the tastes of all spectators and received seemingly endless roars of approval. The United States also had a very dynamic and multi-dimensional show, but the smoke, I suspect, played a large role, and the thunderstorm previously seemed to have affected some firing positions. Austria was an interesting and enjoyable display, with some of the most elaborate sequences of single-shots and fans, but it lacked the creativity and complexity featured by the United States and Philippines. However, it had an overall more enjoyable soundtrack, more exciting moments and was more dynamic than the Italian display, and the theme was clearer. I enjoyed Italy’s display, too, as it had the third best finale of this year and bigger density of shells than Austria, but it was a more simplistic conception of synchronization. Canada’s theme was more elusive, and the transitions between segments were loosely organized, but there were some strong emotional points during the display which did make me drawn to it, to some extent, and the opening was strong (despite an eclipsed finale). As such, based on this thinking, here my jury predictions and personal choices under various respects:

Trav’s jury prediction:

1st: Philippines
2nd: United States
3rd: Austria

Trav’s personal choice:

1st: Philippines
2nd: United States
3rd: Italy
Green Achievement Award: ?

Best choice of music:

1. Philippines
2. Austria
3. United States

Most intriguing effects:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Austria

Best quality products:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Austria

Highest color richness:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Canada

Best devised and represented theme:

1. United States
2. Austria
3. Philippines

Best sequences:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Austria

Most powerful/energetic displays:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Canada

Best opening segment:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Austria
4. Canada

Top conclusions:

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. Italy

Trav.

It was a bit of an odd season - three highly anticipated displays that became two after Howard's withdrawal and then some unknowns. In the end, there were three classes of displays - Gold Jupiter worthy; the battle for Bronze; and the first time competitor playing it safe.

For me, personally, there's no doubt the Dragon display was the best. Of course, it exceeded the budget by a long way, but that doesn't detract from the creative design, great soundtrack and excellent execution. Pyrotecnio was also excellent, but it didn't outshine their 2008 Gold Jupiter performance - though we definitely lost some magic due to the adverse weather causing smoke accumulation. For Bronze, it was a battle between Austria, Canada and Italy. The Austrian display was excellent in many respects, but was unbalanced for this particular venue with too few shells at some key points, though what shells they had were excellent (and the only 300mm ones in competition this year). The design was good, but a tad repetitive and not quite as exciting as I thought it would be. The Canadian display had a good soundtrack and was more balanced, but the relatively low cue-count showed and it was not as complex as the others and was spoiled a tad by the finale. There's nothing wrong with doing something different, but it could have been a more dramatic quiet finish. The Italian display was good, especially given their logistical constraints. I would love to have seen what they could do with more of their own material and the normal preparation time. Biggest disappointment was China - the display was too conservative, too small (especially given they are a manufacturer) and the music detracting from the display. Had the display itself been on a grander scale, the musical choice would have been less of an issue.

So my personal top three:

Gold - Dragon
Silver - Pyrotecnico
Bronze - Austria / Canada - I liked both in different ways

My jury predictions:

Gold - Dragon
Silver - Pyrotecnico
Bronze - Austria
Soundtrack - Dragon
Green Award - no idea as it's a mysterious process! Maybe Dragon as they don't use any plastic? Maybe Austria because all their one-shot igniters are just wire and no pyrogens?

All in all, the top displays this year were amongst the best ever seen in Montreal, but the overall season was a bit mixed, but probably better than last year.

Paul.

Reading all the predictions here, and seeing the final results, should there be a change in the judging system where teams are not disadvantaged due to lack of wind? For teams where the weather is on their side, they have an edge against teams who shoot with very little wind and high humidity. Even an extra "Travis' mother nature" judging category (non-jury) would help bring the scores to a more even level. Or do we just accept competition outcomes as based on luck? Congratulations to all the Teams!

Fred wrote:

Following the “psychological approach” to explain the aforementioned correlation, Gugliani Fireworks could benefit from the “last” position in the calendar. However, the “economic approach” hypothesizes that a such correlation could be caused by the organizers’ efforts to schedule the most promising, “safe” entrants towards the end of the competition when the audience is expected to be larger, and to avoid an anti-climactic sequence of shows. A such economic approach can’t be applied this year given the last minute change to the calendar following Howard & Sons’ withdraw. In one way, it is a good case to test the psychological approach!

The 2018 case suggests limitation to the relevance of the “psychological approach” (recency effect among jury members) to explain the correlation between success and schedule. The “economic approach” would matter more.

Cindy Cheung wrote:

Reading all the predictions here, and seeing the final results, should there be a change in the judging system where teams are not disadvantaged due to lack of wind? For teams where the weather is on their side, they have an edge against teams who shoot with very little wind and high humidity.

Aside the brightness of colours, I believe that we could see everything we had to see from the American show (but some people are hesitant to agree with me). The cloud of smoke wasn't as opaque as what you experienced in 2015. Also, we can remind that Royal Pyrotechnie/Fireworks Spectaculars Canada, as well as Ricasa, won the Gold Jupiter despite the same wind direction.

Fred

Fred: "Aside the brightness of colours, I believe that we could see everything we had to see from the American show (but some people are hesitant to agree with me). The cloud of smoke wasn't as opaque as what you experienced in 2015. Also, we can remind that Royal Pyrotechnie/Fireworks Spectaculars Canada, as well as Ricasa, won the Gold Jupiter despite the same wind direction."

Montreal has a different set of jurors each year, making scoring a bit more unpredictable than if the jury composed of the same jurors every year.

Hi Cindy,

I know what you mean. Because fireworks displays are (obviously) outdoor events, they are heavily dependent on the weather, and so there is always some degree of risk (especially for larger displays).

One problem is that winds climatologically have a westerly component in this region, being mostly SW during the late-Spring and Summer here. As a consequence, there is a much better chance for winds to come out from the NW, SW, WSW, WNW, or strictly West. Furthermore, because the grandstands face West, it is natural for the La Ronde audience to receive the smoke more frequently than any other vantage point (except at least in 2013, when the bridge was anomalously receiving it more) - in fact, the La Ronde audience intercepts smoke, including partially, an average of three times per year from displays, even since the number of displays dropped to eight per year (since 2015).

Also, during late-June to early-August (especially the month of July), temperature variability is at its lowest. With a smaller temperature gradient featured by this period, it is with a much greater likelihood that winds will frequently be light. Thus, there would subsequently be a better chance that many displays per season will face weak to only marginally-sufficient wind speeds, as compared to dangerously strong speeds. Arguably, the calm conditions that you faced on July 18th, 2015 are/were quite rare, but the chance for such wind conditions is, nevertheless, greatest during Summer than any other season.

Of course, the effect of light winds and unfavorable wind direction will be amplified by the amount of humidity in the air, as well as the nature of the show in question - larger shows are riskier in this respect, since there is usually less opportunity for the smoke to clear between segments. This is notably true in cases of high to very high humidity, as notoriously showcased by this Spring-Summer thus far, and that of 2015. In a situation where the humidity is low and the wind speed is sufficient, and the wind direction is westerly, one could probably still get away with seeing most of that show reasonably well from La Ronde, especially if the display is not that active and does not contain many smoke-rich products. The display would just appear hazy in that scenario, but it could still be enough to miss out on some details at some point.

Finally, when two displays per week are introduced, the chance that a display will face unfavorable weather (whether it is wind-related, rainfall, or both) will increase.

Trav.