Monaco Revue -- The celebrity and lifestyle magazine with purpose

Social Diary by Candace Durocher

Monaco International Fireworks 2008

Let's talk about the smoke first. There was so much of it, residents downwind in neighbouring Cap d'Ail could be excused if they rang up the local fire station to warn that Monaco was burning down.

No, it was not. That was just the Danes creating unwelcome smog in their all-out quest for pyrotechnic supremacy in the principality.

Luckily for them the wind swept away the pall, otherwise the curtain of smoke might have been so thick that not even the frontal assault at the end would have been visible.

We'll give Denmark an "A" for effort. They offered some lovely effects, including fans and sprays of light that swayed and jiggled to the music, and interesting shapes such as planets with rings, and compact puffs of lights that kept sparkling on their slow descent. But the mood changes, as set

by the music, felt erratic (moving, for example, from sublime with Cirque du Soleil's enchanting "Alegria" to slaphappy a few minutes later courtesy the Muppets). There were several points in the performance when nothing much happened -- either there was total darkness or trails of lights shot up in the sky to disappear anti-climatically. And in the grand finale -- what we call the frontal assault -- the intention seemed more to shock and awe, rather than to entertain the spectators. There was so much simply thrown into the air, the eyes and brain could hardly take it all in. The overall impression was that the folk from up North seemed to be trying just a bit too hard.

The Danes certainly walked with the pyrotechnic goods. With a bit more finesse and a lot less fumes they could have cinched the title. But as it was, we'd give them 8.9 out of 10.

So, if it were up to us, the Austrians would take home the 10,000 euros and the trophy, with the Danes claiming bragging rights in second place, and Poland and England feeling proud of having put on a good show in the 2008 Monaco International Fireworks Contest. But who are we to say, anyway?

Let's hear what's the official reckoning from the Mayor of Monaco and his fellow judges. Do return to this page for the update on the official results, which we'll add as soon as we get them.

UPDATE: Here are the official results:
Austria 1st Prize (10,000 euros)
Poland 2nd Prize ( 5,000 euros)
Denmark
England

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Comments to date: 2. Page 1 of 1.

Ida, Location unknown	Posted at 5:00am on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Yes thanks for the videos. It's always nice to actually see what's happening.
Nancy, Boston, MA	Posted at 2:47am on Monday, August 25th, 2008
Thanks, Candace, for presenting the fireworks in Monaco. Really loved it.

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