Europe wins the 30th International Fireworks Competition in 2022!

“5 Dates – 5 Teams – 5 Continents” – under this motto, the world gathered this year for the 30th anniversary of the International Fireworks Competition in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen. In the final, congratulations to Europe! The SUREX team from Poland is the winner of this special competition. Second place goes to the Fireworks for Africa team from Africa, and third place goes to the Vulcan Display Fireworks team from Asia.

On the final night of the event, the expert jury—comprising ten permanent members—named the Polish team’s display the best fireworks show of this year’s competition. Following the standard compulsory piece—this year an excerpt from Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Op. 62—the music selection was as individual as the participants. “Eye of the Tiger,” “A Million Dreams,” “Vogue,” “No Matter Where You Are,” “Circle of Life,” and “Survivor” were just a few of the songs that could be heard in the Great Garden.

© Sebastian Gerhard

“Were we imagining things, or was the spontaneous applause and the audience’s frenetic cheering at the end of the competition entries louder than in previous years?” That was the jury’s first thought after the two-year hiatus, recalls jury spokesperson Georg Alef. “All the participants told us a lot about their own countries through their displays. The music typical of their countries, but also the way they brought music to life with fireworks, thrilled us as a jury. One of the focal points of the International Fireworks Competition is the emphasis on the baroque elements of pyrotechnics. In particular, the blend of calm, artistic passages and well-measured, opulent pyrotechnic displays characterizes this competition and represents an important evaluation criterion,” says Alef, summarizing the 30th International Fireworks Competition.

All five dates had sold out well in advance, allowing many fireworks fans to finally use the tickets they had purchased two years ago. In total, over 58,000 guests attended the event in person at the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.

Hans Nolte, Managing Director of Hannover Veranstaltungs GmbH, congratulates the winning team: “This year, we celebrated our anniversary two years late and were treated to a fantastic fireworks display. Especially given the current challenges facing the events industry, I am delighted by the overwhelming and positive response. The International Fireworks Competition in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen has thus firmly established itself in the cultural landscape of Northern Germany.”

Before the teams lit up the sky over Herrenhausen with their show, the audience was treated to a diverse and colorful program in the Great Garden. Didgeridoo, saxophone, and percussion, along with swing, Afrobeats, and overtone singing, brought the sounds of the five continents right into the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen. To match the atmosphere, every evening of the event featured many dazzling, glowing, and dancing street performers, clowns, and artists to marvel at.

The winning team: SUREX

© SUREX

SUREX, founded in 1989, has been run as a family business since 1993 under the motto “Our passion, your emotions.” The Polish team focuses on the technical design and execution of large-scale musical fireworks displays for special occasions, such as the opening of the Polish Olympic Training Center in Szczyrk in 2014, the city anniversary celebrations in Wrocław, and the Tall Ship Races in Gdynia.

Save the date – 2023 dates:

Information about the teams will follow; ticket sales will begin in early November 2022.