I attended the official press conference for the 2007 season yesterday morning.

Beyond the names of the competing companies and countries, each team's theme was announced. I'll by putting these up as the outlines to the reports of this year's competition later this week.

Of particular interest to people who attended Expo 67, celebrating its 40th anniversary - and that of La Ronde, this year was the news that people of 50 and older will be able to purchase special fireworks-only tickets (which give them a seat, presumably in the Bronze section, though it wasn't specified) for only $25. The restriction being that park entry before 7pm is not allowed. The idea is to attract many people who were at Expo 67 to come and reminisce.

The main marketing theme this year is summarized by the statement "come and see what you're missing". As displays get ever more complex, most of the pyrotechnic artistry is now focussed in the low-level effects which can only been seen by being on-site at La Ronde. It really is true that you do miss a lot of the action by watching from the banks of the St Lawrence or the Old Port.

Only two weeks now until the first display! Hoping to see all the old regulars then.

Paul.

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the sharing the news, and I'm anxious to see what is expected of each participant this season in terms of thematic approach.

Still pending, it's possible that I will actually be attending a couple of displays at La Ronde this year (especially since France is performing on my birthday), but no promises on that.

And those over 50 years of age are quite lucky for this year.

I hope to hear from felow enthusiasts again soon, especially since the competition is set to begin in exactly 2 weeks.

Regards,

Trav.

Seulement 7 JOURS avant le début de la 23e compétition d'art pyrotechnique de Montréal!

J'ai jeté un coup d'oeil à la liste des thèmes de chacun des feux le week-end dernier. ll semble que nous alternerons entre les classiques de la pyrotechnie et des originalités: le jazz, Elvis Presley, Roméo et Juliette, la rétrocession de Hong Kong, les jeux Olympiques, Expo 67 et... le chocolat! Cette édition sera aussi l'occasion de revoir des firmes qui ont déjà produit d'excellentes performances à Montréal et d'en découvrir d'autres à l'égard desquelles les attentes sont très élevées.

Encore une fois, merci à Paul Marriott de maintenir ce forum actif où nous pourrons nous retrouver à nouveau au cours des prochaines semaines pour échanger nos commentaires. De plus, comme l'an dernier, le site web Pyroplanet.com proposera une couverture de l'événement.

Fred

Hi Fred,

Sounds like there will be some interesting selected themes this year, but what is also still probably the most appealing is perhaps the appearance of previous distant past firms participating once again. I wanted to ask, but the list of themes you mentioned is the official list?

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's comments. It's hard to believe that the competition came so quickly.

Trav.

the list of themes you mentioned is the official list?

I don't remember the exact title of each display. Most of the themes I listed above were drawn from the short descriptives I had read a couple of days ago, but I don't have this piece of paper with me.

However, I can remind that the Mexican show is entitled "Chocolat", the Chinese one is "La rétrocession de Hong Kong" and that the German show has one of the longest title I have never seen. Michel Lacroix will have to start his speaking sooner than usually in order to complete it right for the official countdown! The Canadian display is related to the Olympic Games, the American one is about Elvis Presley and the closing show will features two Expo 67 songs: "Un jour, un jour" and "Amène-nous à La Ronde".

Fred

Hi Guys,

Long time no see. I've been quite busy for past few months. Now, with my new job and the amount of overtime I have to do, it might be a bit difficult to come and see every display. I'll try very hard, though. Anyways, it looks to be another very promising year. Looking forward to Spain's display on wednesday. I know I won't miss that one. BTW, looking forward to your weather reports Trav, very interesting to read.
Hopefully the weather is on our side .

Dan

Hi Fred,

I appreciate you giving us some information on what we can expect for each display. I'm also quite content to see that Michel Lacroix will be here once again to do the impeccable countdown. I feel so anxious/excited just hearing him countdown as I picture it in my mind.

Hi Dan,

I'm sincerely hoping that you'll be able to make it to see every display this season, my friend; I have a feeling you will be able to somehow.

As for the weather, I'll be sure to do my best in giving accurate reports based on the information I get from TWN and other information that I use (radar, etc). I'm glad, though, that you find them interesting, but as you said, I, too, am hoping for full weather cooperation this season! As mentioned in the thread, I'll be posting the weather conditions only until near the day of presentation because with the credibility of the long range forecasts, I'd hate to disappoint everyone if the weather turns foul at the last minute while keeping everyone in good spirit before then.

Best of luck in your new job, Dan.

Trav.

I'm also quite content to see that Michel Lacroix will be here once again to do the impeccable countdown.

Please note that I do not have information that Michel Lacroix is or is not involved again this year. So I just assume that he is.

There are some things which should not change. Having Michel Lacroix for the countdown is one of those things.

Fred

Fred,

I'm hoping Michel will be with us for this year's competition once again; he is totally irreplaceable for that job (I'll never forget his enthusiastic expression at the final moments of all the waiting).

Only exactly 6 days to go...

Trav.

Don't worry, Michel Lacroix will be master of ceremony once again. As has been rightly stated, he is certainly irreplaceable. I still remember that awful year not that long ago where he was only present for the opening and closing displays.

Michel was also MC at the press conference last week.

Paul.

I still remember that awful year not that long ago where he was only present for the opening and closing displays.

Yeah, it was in 2002. That year was a nightmare. Michel was present for the opening show, but his performance was cancelled due to the heavy rain and the park was almost empty that night. A radio host was in charge to introduce the audience to the pyrotechnic crew and to do the countdown, but it was not a professional way to do, especially for a major international event.

Fred

Hey guys,

I'm just happy to hear that Michel will indeed grace us again with his wonderful and anticipating voice and enthusiasm.

Other than that, I'm hoping to see a cute and nice variation of girandolas again from many competitors; they seem to be getting increasingly popular with the audience over the years.

Trav.

Wow, it's hard to believe that I just said that there was inly 6 days left till the competition starts, and now we're at about 3 and 1/2!

The anticipation is really flowing within me.

Edit: Hope you liked the little thundershower this morning.

Trav.

I went to a SAQ store today and surprisely enough, I found a leaflet about the fireworks. I also saw a big poster on the wall, I wish I could have it lol.

But I'm really glad to have found this year's leaflet. I usually collect them every year.

Anyway, here's the list:

Spain: Pure Jazz
England: Day and Night
Mexico: Chocolate
China: Hong Kong Handover Extravaganza
USA: An American Idol
Canada: Olympian Zeus
France: Love unto Death
Germany: Feel the Unusual Emotions of Original Fireworks
Panzera S.A.S. Back to 67

PS: Smoke, I heard two very loud thunders this morning. The were amazing. The first one sounded like a real bomb.

Enkil,

First, I thank you for posting the respective themes, some of which I find to seem very intriguing and vehement (Fred wasn't joking when he mentioned Germany's title length), for each display.

As for the thundershower, indeed, I did hear the two loud thunder booms yesterday morning (I was up early preparing for the storm's arrival). Yeah, it was very nice to hear it crash like that, but let's hope for additional storm activity like that and better for the remainder of the Summer.

Weather related, I'm a little concerned about the conditions for Wednesday, though there is, at this point, a possibility that the rain and storms will clear out by the evening hours. More details in the weather thread when I receive later forecasts today.

Nice to see you here again, my friend. Only approximately 2 days and 9 and 1/2 hours to go!

Trav.