History of the Competition

Birth of a popular event

The Montreal International Fireworks Competition, known for several years as L’International des Feux Loto-Québec, was created in 1985 at La Ronde, the largest amusement park in Quebec created as part of the 1967 World’s Fair. From the first year, the competition was a huge success. On fireworks nights, La Ronde was packed to the brim and the city of Montreal was treated to unexpected crowd movements. More than 5.7 million people turned out to attend this grand premiere, and it is still an all-time record in Canada for this type of event. Given such a success, the competition was repeated the following year. Since then, this festival has returned every summer to the delight of fans of the greater Montreal area and tourists from all over the world.

Pyromusical art at its best

In its early days, the competition featured two types of performances: traditional fireworks without music and pyromusical fireworks where the explosion of pyrotechnics is carefully synchronized with a musical score. Since 1987, all the fireworks presented at La Ronde have been pyromusical. Over the years, the competition has earned a place at the top of the pyrotechnics industry and the best firms in the world are now aiming for Montreal to achieve the highest distinction in their field.

Proof of its great notoriety, the competition was the subject of a more than laudatory article in the prestigious New York Times. Published on June 27, 2008 in the “escapades” section of the travel section of the newspaper, journalist Henry Fountain’s text presented the contest as a “world-class competition.” Describing Montreal as a city “known for its festivals,” the NY Times described the Feux Loto-Québec as “exclamation marks” punctuating the city’s summer evenings.

Montrealers: an audience of connoisseurs

After all these years, Montrealers have become regular participants in the competition and year in and year out, nearly 3 million people gather at La Ronde, on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge or on one of the two banks of the river every season. Better still, the Montreal public has become one of the most critical audiences in the world when it comes to pyromusical art, and it knows how to appreciate the true value of the work of pyrotechnicians.

In fact, in Montreal, it is the pyrotechnicians who are truly the stars of the evening, as they are more accustomed to playing a supporting role in national festivities. At La Ronde, pyrotechnicians are welcomed and considered as artists rather than explosives technicians.

Tribute to Giovanni Panzera

In its third year, in 1987, the competition enlisted the services of Giovanni Panzera as the artistic director of the competition. He brought with him a wealth of experience. Initiator of the first musical fireworks in Europe, he was one of the organizers of the Cannes fireworks competition from 1973 to 1983. He developed the famous Roman candle on behalf of his own company in Turin, Italy, the Panzera Company. Unfortunately, the year 2000 marked the end of this close collaboration between the “maestro” of pyromusical art and La Ronde, since on September 6, 2000, Giovanni Panzera passed away at the age of 70. His artistic sense and unparalleled knowledge of the industry helped set the tone for the competition and played a significant role in the success of the event. His mission here was to establish Montreal as the hub of pyrotechnic art and to cultivate an audience of experts. From 1987 to 2000, he directed the closing show of each competition, and all those who witnessed his works unanimously recognized him as a master of pyromusical art.