Four countries again will compete for the best pyrotechnics show as the Pattaya International Fireworks Competition returns for a fourth year Nov. 29-30.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome said Nov. 20 that Japan, the Philippines, Switzerland and Taiwan will participate in the popular festival which is expected to generate more than 200 million baht revenue for the city.
An exciting fireworks scene from last year’s event.
No official start time for the displays has been announced, although Itthiphol said Beach Road will close each day at 4 p.m. Previous festivals featured booths selling locally made products, a carnival-style parade, shows and concerts.
City officials decided Sept. 6 to revive the event, which was backed in 2010-11 by the Ministry of Defense and floundered without government support last year.
Originally designed as a two-year Ministry of Defense competition to honor Their Majesties the King and Queen, the International Fireworks Competition kicked off in Thongthani in December 2009. Pattaya held two rounds of the event, in August 2010 and, after a month’s delay due to the national flooding crisis, December 2011. Teams from Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and the United States faced off against Thailand to see which country can put on the most dynamic and colorful exhibition.
After losing the Defense Ministry’s sponsorship, the festival continued last November with only four teams and no participation from Thailand, other than the country donating celebrity “honorary captains” for teams from Canada, China, Singapore and the United States. Thailand will not participate in this year’s display as well.
