Poland 2018

Once the team arrived in Szczecin, they were warmly welcomed by the organisers Surex who took them to their log cabins for the duration of the stay. Once unpacked and showered they went straight out to view the site. After the site visit, they scouted out the local bar for a few beers and to discuss the plan of action for the week. This was then followed by a fantastic meal provided by Surex.

The following day they headed off to site and started preparing the show. The fronts were marked out along with the mortar positions and the special effect towers. Once this was done two of the team started loading the shells while the others prepared the candles and single shot arch arrays.

That evening was the welcoming party that Surex hosted in a big tepee with plenty of beer on tap and a stunning BBQ. This was eventually washed down with some Polish Vodka that retailed around £100 per bottle. Safe to say most of the team were well on the way. The following day on site was a tough one for the team as the weather was in the mid to late 30’s throughout the day, and most of them was nursing a Polish Hangover from too much vodka the night before.

On show day the nerves and tension were high, and the crowd were sceptical on what we could pull off with it being the first time a UK company had taken part in the competition; however the show fired beautifully and was executed to perfection. The false finale threw most of the crowd off guard as they were all cheering like it was the end of the show but we knew it wasn’t.

There was nothing happening apart from the flash pots on the special effect towers hitting the key notes while the fallout from the pre-finale brocades was fading away until the ground lit up and the finale kicked in for the second time. We had used just over 800 shells in the second finale which was unbelievable to witness first hand followed by some ground maroons and salute shells for the extra punch and it was incredible.

Once the second finale finished the crowd went berserk and we got a standing ovation from the judges and all three teams congratulated each other for the performances while we all nervously waited for the results. The teams were then pulled on stage in front of the huge crowd and the city mayor along with the judging panel, the trophies were handed out and we are delighted to say we came in first place. We were also awarded the public award for the best show which made it more worthwhile. Afterwards the team had a closing ceremony / party where Surex put on another BBQ and beer for the three teams and let’s just say the team drank plenty of beer and vodka that night.