20th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest starts Saturday[:zh]第二十届“澳门国际烟花比赛汇演”周六拉开帷幕 [:]

Macau, China, 12 Sept – Representatives from Germany, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Taiwan, the Philippines, France, Australia and China will participate from Saturday at the 20th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest.

The contest will open at the sea area in front of the Macau Tower with displays from Germany and South Korea and ends on 1 October with a show given by Australia and China.

Japan and the United Kingdom present their fireworks on 14 September, while Portugal and Taiwan will be on 20 September, and on 27 September it will be the turn of the Philippines and France.

Special attention will be given to Tamaya Art Pyro Technics from Japan, which won the championship in the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest in 2004 and 2005.

They employ the latest techniques in producing fireworks and perform more than 150 firework shows a year in mainland China, the United States and Europe, among others.

Brezac-Artifices from France is also a well-known company as it won the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest in 2006.

The company, established in 1965, has been among the best in France since the 1980s and is known for the multimedia elements of their firework shows.

Macedo & Companhia Pirotecnia, Lda. of Portugal, who won the contest in 2000, was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for launching the largest fireworks display, consisting of 66,326 fireworks on December 31, 2006.

Other countries to watch out for include Germany, the UK and mainland China, which have in the past come in second place at the contest.

In 2007, the contest was won by France, followed by Taiwan and Japan in second and third places.

The Macau Government Tourism Office is providing a subsidy of US$20,000 to each participant and an US$8,000 prize will go to the winner, while prizes for second and third places are US$4,000 and US$2,500, respectively.

(MacauNews)