Team Canada blows competition out of the water (with gallery)

Canada had its chance to blast away the competition at the second night of the Honda Celebration of Light.

An estimated 300,000 spectators crowded Vancouver?s shoreline Wednesday to get a glimpse of the light show over English Bay, the biggest offshore fireworks competition in the world.

A Calgary-based team, Fireworks Spectaculars, represented Canada with an explosive show to the tune of ?What a Wonderful World,? performed by Celine Dion.?It?s a little nerve wracking to have so many people down here,? said Fireworks Spectaculars president, Brad Dezotell. ?But this isn?t about winning, it?s about putting on a great show.?

The United Kingdom set the bar for the competition with a Bond-themed show last Saturday. A Thai team will close the competition this Saturday.

Spectators were invited to judge the spectacle on an App designed just for the festival. Six other judges will help choose the winning country based on qualities such as colour, originality and correlation of music.

?I got chills twice watching the U.K., they were great,? said judge Bob Kronbauer, 36, shortly before the show. ?They really set the benchmark for the rest of the week.?

It was Kronbauer?s fourth year judging the show, a responsibility that comes with its perks.

?We sit on top of the bathhouse on the beach, it?s definitely the best seat in the house,? he said.

The City of Vancouver tweeted a few hours before the event to remind spectators to leave alcohol at home. ?Open alcohol is prohibited on Vancouver?s beaches, streets and parks,? the tweet said.

Despite the warning, police still dealt with hundreds pour-outs throughout the night along the packed beach. A police officer standing on the corner of Davie and Denman was spotted pouring out a tall can of beer around 7 p.m.

?With the alcohol comes the problems we?re trying to prevent, so we try to stop it before it gets to the beach,? said Const. Brian Montague.

Police also helped reunite a few missing children from their parents. All-in-all, it was a ?pretty good night,? Montague said.

?We?re very happy with the way the night went, everyone is here to enjoy the fireworks,? he said.

gslaughter@theprovince.com

twitter.com@grahamslaughter

Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F228/~3/XnddsBMoieg/story.html

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