L’International des Feux Loto-Québec
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L’International des Feux Loto-Québec, also known as the Montreal Fireworks Festival, is the most important international fireworks competition. (It was formerly known as Le Mondial SAQ, and l'International Benson & Hedges prior to that.) It has been held yearly in Montreal, Canada, since 1985, and is named after its main sponsor, Loto-Québec. They are hailed as the best fireworks in the world. An estimated 4 million people watch them each season.
Each summer, eight or nine pyrotechnical companies from different countries present a 30-minute long pyromusical show, competing for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Jupiter trophies.
For the 20th anniversary in 2004, eight of the previous top competitors (all of whom had won the Gold Jupiter) were invited to fight for the unique Platinum Jupiter in June and July 2004, which was won in the end by the German company WECO.
The competition takes the form of a series of biweekly fireworks shows usually beginning in late June and ending in late July. The fireworks are synchronized to music which is also broadcasted over a local radio station. Spectators can purchase tickets to be seated on site at La Ronde, providing an exceptional view of the lower altitude display and of the whole perspective. However, tens of thousands of people watch the fireworks for free from nearby locations. Although the fireworks are shot at La Ronde on Île Sainte-Hélène, they can easily be seen from many points in Montreal and Longueuil, and especially on the Jacques Cartier Bridge which is closed down to automobile circulation and flooded by thousands of pedestrian spectators for the duration of the show.
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