The Symphony of Fire is an annual multi-day fireworks exhibition and friendly international competition held around the world. The fireworks are choreographed to music. They continue to be presented at

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Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. It was presented at English Bay in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and at the

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

waterfront of the

Ontario Place Ontario Place is an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toronto. ...

theme park in

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until 2000, when these presentations were forced to seek new sponsors and, thus, the exhibition changed names.

History

The event had been previously sponsored by British American Tobacco (with the branding ''

Benson & Hedges Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the ''Benson & Hedges'' name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British ...

Symphony of Fire''), but once tobacco advertising restrictions were legislated by the Canadian federal government in 2000, there were fears that the event would fail to receive sufficient funding to continue operations. The Vancouver event, with various sponsors, has been re-branded as the ''

Celebration of Light The Honda Celebration of Light (formerly known as '' Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire'' and The HSBC Celebration of Light) is an annual musical fireworks competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The first "Symphony of Fire" was held ...

''. British American Tobacco informed Ontario Place Corporation, the hosts of the Toronto exhibition, that they could continue holding the annual event, but under a different name, as the ''Symphony of Fire'' trademark vested with Benson and Hedges. The Toronto event has since been renamed ''the Canada Dry Festival of Fire''. In South Africa, the event is still marketed under the name ''Symphony of Fire'' and is sponsored by a local radio station. The Cape Town events took place in 2000 and March 2006. Spain, Canada and South Africa took part in the 2006 event with South Africa winning on the 8 April.

First events

*Vancouver: 4 July to 5 August 1990. Gold Jupiter Winner A.Caballer(Spain) with design by Alberto Navarro. First time using Pyrodigital Firing System. *Toronto: 1987 - took place at Ontario Place. 1990 Gold Jupiter Winner A.Caballer(Spain) with design by Alberto Navarro.

References

tobacco.org: Tobacco firm ends funding of Symphony of FireSymphony of Fire in South AfricaKFM Symphony of Fire
in South Africa Fireworks in Canada Festivals in Toronto Festivals in Vancouver {{pyrotechnics-stub