Marvel At The Big Bang In Vancouver
Fireworks, which in the 16th century were used to celebrate military victories, are today traditionally associated with celebrations. In fact, several countries around the world celebrate national holidays and other major events with jaw dropping pyrotechnic displays which seem to appeal greatly to the masses.
Photo Credit:Jon Rawlinson
In the Canadian city of Vancouver, fireworks actually hold the center stage at an annual international pyro-musical fireworks competition. This competition, which is now known as the Celebration of Light, was initially called the Symphony of Fire when it was launched in 1990. The Celebration of Light attracts the world’s leading firework designers who use this prestigious event to showcase their talents in front of a crowd of nearly 1.4 million people.
Photo Credit:quinet
When and Where and Who
The firework displays of the Celebration of Light take the form of an international fireworks competition. This display is held over Vancouver’s scenic English Bay in the last week of July each year. In 2009, this unique pyro-musical competitive event will feature four countries, namely the home country of Canada that will put up its show on Wednesday the 22nd of July. It will soon be followed by South Africa on the 25th of July, the UK on the 29th of July and finally China on the 1st of August. Each country’s representative will unveil their latest pyrotechnic creations in an impressive display of lights and sound as they compete to be crowned winner. This year, as there are four countries competing in the event, there will be no grand finale event which has typically been a feature of previous competitions.
Photo Credit:KennyMatic
Admission
The Celebration of Light is a free public access event which starts on the designated night at 10 pm. Each display typically lasts for 25 minutes and can be best witnessed from several of Vancouver’s beaches and parks like English Bay, Kitsilano, Vanier Park, Jericho Beach and West Vancouver.
Photo Credit:awallwork
Unique Pyro- Musical Event
The Celebration of Light is not merely a display of fireworks, but it is a carefully planned and conceptualized show as this firework display is set to music wherein each big bang or shower of light is carefully choreographed to coordinate with a musical note. The music is the background of the show and the fireworks, which feature typically shells, bombs, waterfalls, wheels, roman candles and rockets amongst others, are all designed to be set off in a carefully controlled and synchronized display which is often directed by a computer. For the designer of the show, the choice of the music is extremely important as the music basically governs the type and number of the pyrotechnics which are to be used in the show. Other factors like budget, location, length, weather, safety issues and a central theme, also guide the fireworks designer in conceptualizing and creating this enchanting display.
Photo Credit:quinet
The launch pad of the display
The firework displays of the Celebration of Light are for safety reasons launched from two sand covered barges which are anchored 300 meters (1000 feet) away from the shore. These barges are fireproof launching pads which are equipped with broadcasting facilities for the music and well as various amenities for the crew involved in the display. These barges are only accessible by authorized personnel who are ferried over to the barge from Vanier Park on the morning of the display.
Photo Credit:squeakymarmot
Winners
For the last two years, Canada has won the Celebration of Light competition and this year, the home country aims to make it three in a row as it battles the other three countries for the crown.
The Celebration of Light is known to attract more than a million domestic and international visitors every year. If you are planning to travel to Vancouver for this unusual but highly entertaining event and are currently looking for accommodations for your stay, you would do well to check out the various hotel offers listed at Accomline.com. The site offers a wide variety of Vancouver hotels to suit every budget and need like the five star rated Sutton Place Hotel, the four star Renaissance Hotel and three star rated Sandman Hotel. All these hotels are conveniently located near Vancouver’s city center and provide easy access to English Bay, which is the main site of this fascinating event.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Fun, Music, North America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:22 am
The night skies in the U.S. on July 4 seemed a little less lit with fireworks as many cities are grappling with a severe budget crisis. Where I live the issue was not so much who was paying for the fireworks, but the associated costs for overtime for city emergency and police services. Normally cities would be lauded for their sky spectacles but this year it seemed more of a useless indulgence if a city had fireworks.