Sunny International, the ultimate contestant to the 2008 edition of L'International des feux Loto-Québec, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, did its show on Saturday, August 2^nd. Titled ʺForever Loveʺ, the display was based on a Chinese story similar to the well-known Romeo and Juliet. In order to bring the audience into its story more effectively, the Chinese team has prepared a summary of the display and it was distributed to the viewers. Colour-printed on both sides of a sheet, it featured for each segment the music title, the main products and colors used, as well as a transcript of the narrative and photos. This unprecedented tactics (from memory) has been highly appreciated by several people.

The American new entrant Pyrotecnico achieved an amazing introduction to L'International des feux Loto-Québec, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, on Wednesday, July 30^th. Titled ʺRock Lovesʺ, the 32-minute pyromusical display was divided in five acts, each presented with a brief narrative and devoted to rock's values such as love, dream and peace.

With the theme ʺHeaven and Hellʺ, the crew of Pyrovision GmbH has delivered in Montreal a very particular display designed to bring intense emotions to the audience with a smaller arsenal than other contestants. However, to do Montreal is a major challenge and it is not easy for many pyrotechnicians. Thus, the Austrian new entrant to the 2008 edition of L'International des feux Loto-Québec experienced a baptism of fire as a technical mistake led to synchronization problems.

It was the annual Canada night on July 23th at L'International des feux Loto-Québec, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition. The Canadian entrant, a new one, was Garden City Display Fireworks based in the Niagara peninsula. With the theme ʺAurora: Fire in the Skyʺ and an all-instrumental soundtrack, it vividly demonstrated the talent of this firm and the relevance for the organizers to enlarge the set of Canadian companies invited ʺto doʺ Montreal.

The 2008 edition of L'International des feux Loto-Québec, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition, is becoming intense with two displays per week, large audience and great performances which make the judges' task much more complicated. The Australian entrant, Howard and Sons, winner of the Malaysian International Fireworks Competition in September 2007, did a second appearance in Montreal on July 19^th, with a setup including 29 nautical platforms across the lake, in addition to the usual firing ramps.

When Mélanie Cagnon found a summer job at La Ronde amusement park in 2000, she did not think that it would be the starting point of an international career. And yet, she is currently International business manager of Grupo Luso Pirotecnia, the 2008 Portuguese entrant to the Montreal International Firework Competition which performed one of the largest shows in the competition history on July 12th (see our report here).