Philippines, Malaysia to open fireworks display contest

Errol Lucero (left), Kim Moon Tong (center) and PyroBlast Technical Consultant Krishna

The Philippines and Malaysia are set to open the 30th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest that will kick off at 9 p.m. this Saturday.

Hosted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), 12 pyrotechnic teams will present firework displays themed “Duo Celebrations for Macau.”

Yesterday, the two teams from the Philippines and Malaysia met with the press to present their works that will open this year’s competition.

Themed “Diversification – Integration,” Malaysia has divided its presentation into six segments that aim to showcase different elements of fireworks, color and effect.

“Malaysia is a multi-cultured and multi-racial country […] so we will bring this diversification and integration [to the theme]. We’re coming with different combinations of colors and patterns,” said Krishna, the pyrotechnician of Blastmaster Sdn Bhd.

“We have some special new designs which we will display in the competition. We have some low-level effects as well to create a multi-level display,” Krishna further explained.

This year, the 12 pyrotechnic teams will choreograph 18-minute fireworks shows to the song “Light Your Fire” by Mathew Lam Chun Yat, which won the bureau’s songwriting contest last year.

The Malaysian team noted that it was a challenge for the group to create a fireworks display based on the song.

“It’s quite difficult to get fireworks to match the music. But we managed to do it with bright colors and slow and fast effects. That’s the big challenge this time,” said Krishna.

Meanwhile, the team from the Philippines has themed its presentation “A Magical Experience,” aiming to showcase a fireworks show that is “executed in a unique play of angles and colors.”

Platinum Fireworks, Inc. will close its show with the song “Never Enough,” from the Greatest Showman film.

“We wanted to make a magical show, so this year’s finale is much bigger than last year’s,” said Errol Lucero, the show director of the company.

“We will use more colorful effects so it will become magical. We see to it that the mandatory theme song and the fireworks would sync overall,” he added.

Since the Philippines’ team experienced difficulties last year due to low visibility, Lucero shared that the team has enhanced its techniques so that its high-level effects would not be blocked by the clouds.

The fireworks display contest will be held on weekends from September 7 until October 5. LV