When the awards were handed out on August 6, Pyrotecnico, a national pyrotechnics company, took away top honors, winning the Gold Jupiter at the 24th annual International de Feux Loto-Québec in Montreal, Canada.
"This is the most prestigious fireworks competition in the world, and we are extremely proud to be able to represent the USA and bring home a gold," said Rocco Vitale, general manager of Pyrotecnico.
Referred to as the "Olympics if the pyrotechnics world," the competition took place over a month and a half to give each of the teams its own night to perform. The competition required each team to choose a theme and music to coordinate with its displays, which need to last a minimum of 30 minutes.
Pyrotecnico spent nine months preparing a fireworks show that used 7,500 devices and six different base apparatuses-three of which were towers about 33 feet tall-and that lasted 32 minutes. The "Rock Loves" show featured four acts and 10 songs including "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" by the Beatles, "Yellow" by Coldplay, and "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses.
This year-its first in the contest-Pyrotecnico beat out teams from nine countries around the world, including Howard & Sons from Australia and Sunny International from China, which received the silver and bronze awards, respectively.
At the moment, the company is still riding high off of its victory and does not plan on participating in the competition in the immediate future. However, it has not ruled out taking on the challenge again later on down the line. The company's executives are considering taking the show on the road to venues across the country.
