Check out this video: http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/decouverte/2008-2009/Reportage.asp?idDoc=87641

Following the outstanding success of The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - A Salute to Australia in 2005 attended by over 150,000 people, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo returned to the Sydney Football Stadium in February 2010 to celebrate its 60th anniversary year.

With over 1,500 performers from around the world, including Massed Pipes and Drums, Highland Dancers and the stirring Lone Piper, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo was the biggest tattoo ever to be staged.

The new show featured international bands from the UK, USA, Switzerland, China, Norway, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand as well as Australian bands from each of the Defence Forces and from every state. You of course cannot have an Edinburgh Military Tattoo without Edinburgh Castle. The remarkable $1 million replica of the castle facade, was stunning, and included 9 cannons mounted at the top of the castle from which pyrotechnic cannon effects blasted to signal the start of the show.

Throughout the performance brilliant sequences of pyrotechnics and special effects were produced by the Howard & Sons Pyrotehnics team, including a beautiful pyromusical finale to the concert. (Photo credits:SCG Trust, Hamilton Lund & Paul Walton) Contact Howard & Sons: www.howardsfireworks.com.au

Dominator Fireworks has completed simulation of it's first batch of product in Finale Fireworks visual simulation and choreography software, and has kicked off it's release with a "Spring Showdown Contest" The rules are simple, Spring Showdown Contest Rules:

- 4 minute maximum runtime. 500 ques max.
- Music or not, your choice.
- Must use currently simulated Dominator product only. The product is being made available in both the pro and consumer versions, We will allow the break apart cakes feature to be used.
- Must be 18 or older, or have a parent we can contact.
- You can enter your show at anytime up until April 15th, at which time it will be closed and we will review all shows. But entering earlier will get you more votes!
- To officially enter the contest, send an email to ed@dominatorfireworks.com with a link to your show, or letting me know it has been saved to the shows tab in Finale, and under what user name.
- You may also use the download show feature and email us an mp4 file.

It is with pride and honour that the Fiatlux-Ampleman Group will be present in Vancouver, ‘Host City of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games', throughout the games from the 11^th to the 28^th of February. Mandated by the City as part of ‘LiveCity Vancouver' on one of the ‘celebration sites', the Fiatlux-Ampleman Group will present 17 pyrotechnic displays on 17 consecutive nights. It goes without saying that participating in this unique international event brings us great pleasure and excitement.

Closer to home, the Fiatlux-Ampleman Group takes part in Quebec City's Winter Carnival from January 29^th to February 14^th 2010 with a bigger and improved pyrotechnic signature. Once again Quebec City is shining with this explosive edition of its winter celebration. In Montreal, Fiatlux-Ampleman will light up the sky of Old Montreal and Place des Festivals for the 11^th edition of the Montreal High lights Festival from the 18^th to the 28^th of February. An event's partner for many years, the company's knowhow and creativity will once again heat up the atmosphere.

Passfire Labs, creator of the well known hobbyist pyro website passfire.com and producer of the top selling ShowSim simulation based scripting and choreography software, has released another product this month for the pyro hobbyist community.  The new software, called AfterGlow, brings all the simulation features of their high-end ShowSim 3D product at a price anyone can afford.  Helping to fuel a pre-existing movement by young gamers to choreograph amazing virtual fireworks shows using consumer games such as Roller Coaster Tycoon3, AfterGlow gives budding young pyro artists tools specifically designed just for making fireworks shows set to music-- tools every bit as powerful as those used by real pyrotechnicians!

AfterGlow's creator, Kyle Kepley, has been working with young show designers at http://www.vpyro.com/ for a few years while developing the ground breaking ShowSim 3D software for the professional market.  "The shows these guys make are just amazing.  Every bit as good as anything you would see from a real display company," Kyle notes, "not only are they good at choreographing fireworks to music, but they are very good at creating custom fireworks effects as well."  He believes the contributions from AfterGlow users will actually benefit the professional users as well. AfterGlow, like ShowSim 3D, has a highly customizable simulation engine.  Not only can you create your own custom effects and organize them into distributable libraries, but you can customize visual elements at the particle level and even add your own sound effects.  These custom "effect skins" can then be shared with other users as the community grows.  "After seeing what these young guys were doing with just a simple sim game not even designed for making fireworks shows, I knew I had to give them a real tool and tap their skills in a way that would benefit the professionals as well.  Some of these guys are already designing real fireworks shows now for other companies!"

2009 is about to meet its end and the projects just do not stop. Grupo Luso Pirotecnia will be present from the north to the south in the celebrated night of 31st December, with fantastic and magnificent pyrotechnical performances which mark the turn of a new decade.  Grupo Luso Pirotecnia are particularly focused on New Year's Eve in Lisbon, where two fireworks productions will be simultaneously launched at midnight. Click for more information...