As the designer of the winning show from last year’s Casino Lac-Leamy Sound of Light international fireworks competition, Fernando Macedos is only feeling a little bit of extra pressure.
“It’s normal for us. We’re used to it,” he said on Thursday ahead of his team’s opening night performance on Saturday night.
The Portuguese team, which bears the family name Macedos, is performing a show called Encantador. “It translates into enchanting or charming,” said Macedos. “I hope we can do that to the public.”
Performances take place every Saturday and Wednesday night, with the grand finale held on Aug. 21.
Each team gets 25 minutes to impress the judges for individual performances. They get an additional five minutes during the grand finale.
The grand finale makes up one quarter of the points for the competition, which means any team has a chance to win going into the last show, said Alain Carbonneau, artistic director of the Casino Sound of Light.
Around 20,000 are expected to flock to the banks of Lac-Leamy for the show, said Anny Spooner, director of public affairs with the fireworks show.
