Since 1990 Vancouver’s been a host to an international fireworks competition. Formerly known as Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire, competitions were held around the world, most notably in Canadian cities Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. In 2000 the Canadian government restricted tobacco advertising and Benson & Hedges pulled their funding from the million dollar event. In 2001 the event was saved by HSBC Bank Canada, BC Hydro Power Smart and the City of Vancouver, renaming the event the HSBC Celebration of Light. Today the competition continues to light the skies over Vancouver’s English Bay as three countries compete for the title.
View our Past Competitors
Shells/bombs
The most common tool in fireworks, the shell or bomb is a canister fired out of the mortar into the sky containing various pyrotechnic compositions referred to as “stars”. Shells range in size from 50 to 305 millimetres in diameter.
Rocket
A “shell on a stick”, which instead of being fired into the air from a mortar tube, is mounted onto a rocket motor to which a stick is attached. Cylindrical in shape, the rocket has a cone-shaped head filledwith stars. Upon ignition, the gases from the propellant erupt out of the bottom of the cylinder and the rocket rises high into the air.
Roman candles
A cardboard tube which contains alternating layers of compacted black powder and single stars. When lighted, roman candles eject a series of coloured stars one by one into the air and often emit a shower of glowing sparks between each shot. Their projection height ranges anywhere from 4.5 metres (15 feet) to 45 metres (150 feet). Roman candles range in size from ½ metre to 1 metre in length and from 20 to 60 mm in diameter.
Fountains
Fireworks designed to project brilliant jets of sparks into the air much like a water fountain. Shaped like a cone or cylinder, the fountain’s pyrotechnic composition is pressed into the case in the same wayas for a rocket motor, but on a short rather than a long central cavity. Both gold and silver are common in coloured fountains.
Gerbs
A variety of fountains shaped like a sheaf of wheat.
Girandole
The “flying saucer” of fireworks, which creates a “whirling top“ effect.
Mines
Tubular device, comprised of a plastic bag containing a black powder lifting charge and a number of coloured shells, balanced by a wooden or plastic base. The mine is designed to propel any number of items aloft – stars, whistles, and floating fireworks.
Wheels
Revolving pieces turned by drivers. Various effects can be attached to the wheel, such as coloured lights and fountains. Horizontal wheels often have waterfall units and are positioned at the side of the barge or under water to form a ”shower“. ”Catherine“ or ”pin“ wheels are small wheels spinning on a pole.
Waterfalls
Made from a series of units suspended fuse end down from a wire or rope strung between two points. The units are ignited simultaneously and produce a curtain of sparks, creating the illusion of a waterfall.
An explosive medium
While other designer’s dreams are brought to life through paint, textiles, wood and a myriad of other media, the vision of the pyro-musical designer is expressed in explosives. For this unique designer, the sky is their palette, bombs are their media and music, their inspiration.
The pyromusical designer is a relative newcomer to the world of fireworks. For hundreds of years, it was the shell/bomb maker who was the artistic force behind any fireworks display.
Now, the focus of attention has shifted towards an overall vision of a fireworks “show”. Synchronization, structure, coordination and rhythm are the new standards. The shell/bomb maker is still a very important player in the process, working behind the scenes to create a repertoire of bombs that explode with precision giving the desired effect. However, now the shell maker gets his/her direction from the designer.
Even before the designer begins, a number of important factors shape the show, including budget, location, length, weather, safety issues and specific directions or a “theme” the client or competition has put forward. Once these have been established, the long design process begins.
Selecting the music
The design process starts with the music. The designer and his or her team invest a lot of time listening to music and have usually developed a bank of music they find inspiring and conducive to pyrotechnics.
Once the music is selected, a soundtrack is built. The soundtrack is constructed to conform with the time duration that has been set by the client or competition. It is important the soundtrack not only have a homogeneity to it, which allows for one feeling to make a natural transition into another, but that it also has both high points and low points, with which to shape the show.
Designing the show
Once the soundtrack is built, the designer begins to visually create the show. Listening to the music, they take note of the colours, forms, shapes and rhythms that come to mind. These will ultimately express themselves in the fireworks used.
Then the soundtrack is cut, section by section. Each section serves as a frame within which the show is built. Accent points in the music are targeted, and these become the points to which the special effects are synchronized.
In the pyroarchitecure, the designer treats the water and the skies as vast building blocks, designing the tableaus of the show from the bottom up. Smoke plays an important role in shaping the design. Since the tableaus are created on different levels, something high and spectacular must be followed by low images like aquatic bombs or a cascading waterfall to allow the smoke to dissipate.
The designer and team must then cost out the show to determine whether or not it is within budget. The designer then returns to his or her vision and makes any necessary changes.
With all revisions made, the designer transfers his/her ideas onto paper. The designer then begins working with a master bomb maker. The designs use both existing bombs and specially configured bombs created especially for a specific effect the designer has in mind.
On average, it takes a show designer about four to six hours to plan the fireworks spectacle for each minute of music for a 25-minute show — meticulously synchronizing the fireworks to cues on the recorded soundtrack.
Firing the show
Today’s fireworks teams use computers to develop the script, synchronization and timing of the show, and more and more teams also use them to fire their shows electrically from the firing booth. Some teams opt to fire them individually so as to be able to react immediately to changing environmental elements such as humidity (which can make a fuse burn slightly slower). Other teams have the computer run the firing of the entire show.
Discovery in the East
Though many nations claim the invention, most historians agree that the Chinese invented fireworks in the 9th century when they discovered how to make gunpowder. The story is that a Chinese cook toiling in a field kitchen happened to mix three ingredients commonly found in the kitchen – potassium nitrate or saltpeter (a salt substitute), sulfur (a flammable solid) and charcoal (from charred wood).
The cook noticed that, when ignited, the pile burned with a combustible force. The cook apparently also discovered that if these same ingredients were enclosed and then ignited, the combination exploded rather than burned. This explosion produced a loud sound perfect for frightening off spirits, celebrating weddings, and marking battle victories, eclipses of the moon, and the beginning of the New Year.
Another version of the history of fireworks credits Taoist monks with their discovery in the Far East approximately 1000 years ago. Once again, coincidence played a major role. What scientists of the day were looking for was a potion that promised immortality and eternal life. In their experiments, Taoist monks discovered that a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and finely ground charcoal exploded violently while giving off a great deal of light, noise and smoke. So, they poured the explosive powder into bamboo tubes, blocked the two ends and attached an igniter cord to the charge.
Development in the West
Italy’s Marco Polo, in his journeys to the Far East, picked up a number of novelties and brought them home – among them the black powder that evolved into a mainstay of Italian entertainment and celebration: fireworks.
It was in Europe that gunpowder’s military potential was discovered and its usage truly evolved – first with rocketry, and then with guns.
Fireworks were used to celebrate military victories as early as 1532 under Charles V, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Soon fireworks were used increasingly for entertainment purposes, as royal families in Europe competed for the affection of their subjects by staging ever more sophisticated fireworks at coronations, baptisms and marriages.
To Tsar Peter the Great, we owe the custom of burning fireworks to herald the New Year. King Louis XIV was notorious for his lavish fireworks in the pleasure gardens of Versailles.
Italy and Germany emerged as the two leaders in fireworks displays in the 16th to 18th centuries.
Musical fireworks
By the 18th century, music was commonly incorporated into fireworks displays. One famous performance took place in London, England to celebrate the signing of the peace treaty ending the War of the Austrian Succession. English composer George Friedrich Handel created a symphony, Music for the Royal Fireworks, specifically for this event.
Modern musical fireworks were initiated by the French at Cannes in 1960. They were the first to synchronize a sound track to a fireworks spectacle with chrysanthemum explosions and roman candles. For unknown reasons, this style disappeared for 25 years. Then, in 1985, musical fireworks reappeared in spectacular style with the introduction of an international fireworks competition in Montreal, Quebec.
- Don’t dig holes in the beach. Sand pits cause accidents in the dark.
- Keep glass off the beach.
- Clean up your spot and take garbage with you.
- Bring a flashlight so you can see the ground and avoid accidents in the dark.
- Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
- High tides are expected. Watch for incoming tides – your spot close to the water may change during the evening.
- Report lost children to the nearest lifeguard station.
- Report lost children to the nearest lifeguard station.
- Boaters, read about boating safety.
- Respect the Vancouver neighbourhoods that welcome the fireworks – keep noise levels down and do not leave litter on the streets.
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