Romania debuts in fireworks contest

The 28th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest, organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), will be held on September 3, 10, 15, 24 and October 1.
In a press conference yesterday, the director of the MGTO, Helena de Senna Fernandes, unveiled this year’s event program, announcing that there will be 10 teams competing to dazzle the skyline with a fireworks display. The festival’s budget amounts to MOP27 million, 15 percent more than in 2015.
Each of the five event nights will feature a special theme: “Pyro Fantasia,” “Tribute to Bond,” “Mid-Autumn Harmony,” “Stars from afar” and “Celebration in the Sky.”
In order of appearance, the teams will be from Thailand, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Italy, Canada, Romania and China.
This is the first time that the contest will feature a team from Romania. The Canadian company, Feu d’Artifice Orion, will also make its debut in Macau.
The other eight teams have participated in the region’s competition before, with several of them ranking among the top three, including Portugal’s Macedos Pirotecnia Lda.
The Portuguese company has joined the competition four times previously and won the first prize in the 12th edition. Its display on Madeira Island for New Year’s Eve in 2006 was recognized by the Guinness World Records for the biggest fireworks display in the world, and held that record until 2012.
Another contestant, the British company Pyro 2000 Ltd, won the third prize in the 25th edition of the fireworks display contest. The company specializes in orchestrating fireworks displays to live music performance and is one of the key players for musical fireworks displays in the United Kingdom.
The contestant from Japan, Marutamaya Ogatsu Fireworks Co, Ltd, won first and third prize in the 5th and 19th editions of the contest, respectively. Taking pride in having over 150 years experience in pyrotechnics, the Japanese company will perform fireworks displays in an “Edo-Tokyo style,” which combines the modern innovation of Tokyo with traditional techniques of pyrotechnic craft dating back to the Edo period, according to an MGTO statement.
The Hunan Jingtai Fireworks Co. Inc., based in Hunan province, took home the championship for last year’s contest in Macau. The company is also set to compete again this year.
The remaining teams, Thailand Fireworks, Daehan Fireworks Co. from Korea and Orzella Fireworks from Italy have all participated in the contest before.
The Japanese and Korean teams will present their fireworks shows on September 15, at the Mid-Autumn Festival, whereas the teams from Romania and China will present on October 1, the National Day.
The organizers claim that the event has drawn a massive number of tourists to Macau for over two decades. Fernandes stated that in the days ahead, “MGTO will carry on with its efforts to stage a wider diversity of fascinating events.”
Moreover, application forms are available for the Trophy Design Contest, Photo Contest and Student Drawing Contest for the upcoming 28th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest. A prize ceremony was held yesterday for last year’s winners.