After three nights of competition where Viet Nam, Brazil and Italy each competed for top honours, it was clear on the final night that Italy would take home the top prize in the 2012 Honda Celebration of Light fireworks competition in English Bay, in downtown Vancouver.

“Italy deserved the win” said Patrick Brault, Honda Celebration of Light producer, “the choreography and their use of color was simply spectacular.  The judges and the public had a hard time deciding the winner because it was so close but in the end it was a few points and a few extra public votes that made the difference.”

It was the first year in the 22-year event history that the public was able to go online and vote.

The 3-night event attracted over 1-million spectators, many of which came to enjoy the daytime SHOREfest music series at Sunset Beach and English Bay.

“We estimated about 400,000 people on site Saturday night to watch Italy’s show,” said Andrea Dowd-Dever, Producer of the 2012 Honda Celebration of Light, “It is wonderful to see so many people enjoying this amazing event and we are already planning an even bigger event for 2013.”