The Celebration of Light (formerly known as Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire) is an annual musical fireworks competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The first "Symphony of Fire" was held from July 25 to August 5 of 1990. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 392 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 588 pixel, file size: 307 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)‹ The template below (BadJPEG) has been proposed for deletion. ... Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by Gallaher Group. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Fireworks over Miami, Florida, USA on American Independence Day Fireworks at Epcot, Florida, USA The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House illuminated under New Years Eve Fireworks 2005 A Fireworks event (also called a fireworks show) or Pyrotechnics is a spectacular display of the effects produced by... Motto: By Sea, Land, and Air We Prosper Location of Vancouver within the Greater Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada Coordinates: , Country  Canada Province  British Columbia Region Lower Mainland Regional District Greater Vancouver Incorporated 1886 Government  - Mayor Sam Sullivan (NPA)  - City Council List of Councilors Suzanne Anton (NPA) Peter... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Overview

The event takes place in English Bay at 10:00 PDT on four nights over a two week period between July and August. Each of the four performances have at least two-day separation for preparation. Three to four companies representing their country perform a twenty-five minute firework display set to music. A grand finale is performed on the last day by all the competitors, except for 2006, because of the 4th competitor, the finale is shortened to 6-minute and without components from participating countries. Hundreds of thousands of people crowd the beaches around English Bay for the Celebration of Light fireworks competition each summer. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fireworks. ...

Music can be heard from large speakers set up on the beach or on radio simulcast by ROCK 101 (101.1 FM) during the event.

Over 1.6 million spectators come to the closest viewing points at the West End, Kitsilano, and Stanley Park to view the event, many of them coming from outside British Columbia. The traffic is closed in the West End and Kits Point each year starting with different time. Roads open again at 11:30 p.m. Vancouver Police, British Columbia Ambulance Service, and St. John Ambulance volunteers collaborate to provide assistance to deal with potential emergencies with the large crowds present at the Celebration of Light. Location of the West End in Vancouver. ... Location of Kitsilano in Vancouver. ... Location of Stanley Park within Vancouver. ... Vancouver Police Department Coat Of Arms The Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver. ... The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) is the sole ambulance service and provider of pre-hospital emergency care in the province of British Columbia, Canada, and is one of the largest EMS services in North America. ... St. ...

In 2000, the Celebration of Light seemed about to be canceled because of a new law preventing events from being sponsored by tobacco companies. At the time, the event was sponsored by Benson & Hedges under the name Symphony of Fire. HSBC, among other organizations, now sponsors the event. Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by Gallaher Group. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... HSBC Holdings plc (LSE: HSBA, SEHK: 0005, NYSE: HBC, Euronext: HSBC, BSX: 1077223879) is one of the largest banking groups in the world, ranked the fifth-largest company in the world in Forbes Global 2000. ...

In 2006, the number of teams competing was four instead of three, as it had been in other years. Mexico competed on finale night, with a shortended final show put on by all four countries following Mexico's show.

The 2007 fireworks was close to being cancelled, until last minute sponsorship contributions by London Drugs and the Concord Pacific Group were announced on March 5. Image:Mission055 small. ...

The barges in English Bay from which the fireworks are launched.

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 135 pixelsFull resolution (1183 × 200 pixel, file size: 38 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)The Celebration of Light barge in Vancouver. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 135 pixelsFull resolution (1183 × 200 pixel, file size: 38 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)The Celebration of Light barge in Vancouver. ... Hundreds of thousands of people crowd the beaches around English Bay for the Celebration of Light fireworks competition each summer. ...

2007 Program

The 2007 HSBC Celebration of Lights winner was Canada.

Wednesday, July 25
Country:	Spain
Company:	Ricardo Caballer Pirotechnica
Theme:	Fireworks and the 7th Earth
Designer:	Ricardo Caballer Cardo
Website:	www.ricardocaballer.com
Saturday, July 28
Country:	Canada
Company:	Archangel Fireworks Inc.
Theme:	Take Five to Jive
Designer:	Kelly Guille and Sean Procter
Website:	www.archangelfireworks.com
Wednesday, August 1
Country:	China
Company:	Jiangxi Province Lidu Fireworks Corporation Ltd.
Theme:	The Time Machine
Designer:	Xu Delong
Website:	www.lidufireworks.com
Saturday, August 4
Celebration Finale
Designer:	Yves Relave

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2006 Program

The 2006 winner is Mexico, who joins this competition for the first time.

Wednesday, July 26
Country:	Italy
Company:	A.P.E. di Parente Romualdo
Theme:	Magia Di Fuochi
Designer:	Michele Parente
Website:	www.parenteape.it
The Italian team's presentation is a peculiar and charming pyrotechnic show with wide variety of effects ranging from the sky to the water, dancing volcanoes, golden rain and a fantastic closure. Attendance was estimated at 400,000.
Saturday, July 29
Country:	China	A portion of China's 2006 Show
Company:	Jiangxi Province Lidu Fireworks Corporation Ltd.
Theme:	Yellow River Odyssey
Designer:	Xu Delong
Website:	www.lidufireworks.com
The Chinese team's presentation features specific colours in each of the five sections: blue, silver and crackling, green, green falling leaves and gold. The music is performed by The Philarmonic Orchestra of China, accompanied by pianist Xiang-Dong Kong.
Wednesday, August 2
Country:	Czech Republic
Company:	Flash Barrandov Special Effects Ltd.
Theme:	Rhapsody in Blue
Designer:	Jaroslav Štolba
Website:	www.flash-sfx.cz
The Czech Republic show is an evening full of jazz music in four sections: Classical jazz, Conspiracy jazz, Latin jazz and Traditional jazz.
Saturday, August 5
Country:	Mexico
Company:	Lux Pirotecnia, S.A. de C.V.
Theme:	Siente México: Feel Mexico
Designer:	Jorge M. Márquez
Website:	www.luxpirotecnia.com
Past and future values come together in a program full of joy. A musical score that includes pre-hispanic sounds, music in the history of carnival celebrations, traditional sounds mixed with innovative rhythms, and some of the best Mexican known values, friendship and fraternity are present in this show with the purpose to make you feel a little part of Mexico.
Celebration Finale
Designer:	Jaroslav Štolba
The Celebration Finale is specially designed to pay tribute to the HSBC Celebration of Light competition. The 6-minute Celebration Finale did not include components from participating countries.

Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 497 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 497 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Mexico. ...

Previous Years

Because of the change in sponsor, records are difficult to find before the year 2001.

Fireworks display by Italy in 2006.

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2006

Winner:  Mexico
Company:	Lux Pirotecnia, S.A. de C.V.
Show Theme:	Siente México: Feel Mexico
China
Company:	Jiangxi Province Lidu Fireworks Corporation Ltd.
Show Theme:	Yellow River Odyssey
Italy
Company:	A.P.E. di Parente Romualdo
Show Theme:	Magia Di Fuochi
Czech Republic
Company:	Flash Barrandov Special Effects Ltd.
Show Theme:	Rhapsody in Blue

Image File history File links Flag_of_Mexico. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ...

2005

Winner:  Sweden
Company:	Unique Pyrotechnic AB
Show Theme:	Kisses of fire
Canada
Company:	Concept Fiatlux Inc.
Show Theme:	Jazz in the sky
China
Company:	Beiijng Zhong Fa Pyrotechnics Co., Ltd.
Show Theme:	Voix de feu, feu de voix

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2004

Winner:  Sweden
Company:	Fyrverkeri Expertena AB
Show Theme:	Aurora Borealis over Canada
China
Company:	Beijing ZhongFa Fireworks Arts (Group) Co.
Show Theme:	On ne dort pas ce soir
Spain
Company:	Vicente Caballer e Hijos S.L.
Show Theme:	Plus Ultra

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2003

Winner:  China
Company:	Beijing ZhongFA Fireworks Art (Group) Co.
Show Theme:	From January to December
Canada
Company:	Concept Fiatlux Inc.
Show Theme:	Pyrotechnic Symphony of Voices
Czech Republic
Company:	Flash Barrandov Special Effects Ltg
Show Theme:	Woman on Fire

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ...

2002

Winner:  Canada
Company:	Concept Fiatlux Inc.
Show Theme:	The Desert Rose
Italy
Company:	Nanna Fireworks
Show Theme:	Fire into the Music
Spain
Company:	Fuegos Artificiales Antonio Caballer S.A.
Show Theme:	The Party of the Sense

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ...

2001

Winner:  Spain
Company:	Fuegos Artificiales Antonio Caballer S.A.
Show Theme:	Soul to Fire
South Africa
Company:	Pyro Spectacular
Show Theme:	Cosmos
China
Company:	Beijing ZhongFa A.F. Consulting Co. Ltd.
Show Theme:	Odyssee

Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ...

2000

Winner:  Spain
Company:
Show Theme:
Australia
Company:
Show Theme:
Italy
Company:
Show Theme:

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1999

Spain
Company:	Fuegos Artificiales Antonio Caballer S.A.
Show Theme:
Canada
Company:
Show Theme:
France
Company:
Show Theme:

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1998

Winner:  Spain
Company:	Fuegos Artificiales Antonio Caballer S.A.
Show Theme:	The Mythical Land
United Kingdom
Company:	Pyro 2000
Show Theme:	Fire & Fantasy
Italy
Company:	Nanna Fireworks
Show Theme:	Music of the World

Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ...

1997

Winner:  United Kingdom
Company:	Pyro 2000
Show Theme:
Company:
Show Theme:
Company:
Show Theme:

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ...

References

• City of Vancouver administrative report
• Internet Archive Wayback Machine
• tobacco.org: Tobacco firm ends funding of Symphony of Fire

External links

• Official HSBC Celebration of Light website
• Full video clip of Spain July 25, 2007 fireworks display