This weekend sees the return of the annual Blanes Fireworks Competition – officially El Focs de Blanes or Concurs Internacional de Focs – which takes place in the Catalonian town of the same name. The fireworks competition is part of a range of events taking place from 21 – 28 July to mark the Feast of Santa Anna and Sant Joaquim. The fireworks events themselves take place between 22 – 27 July. 2016 marks the 46th annual fireworks competition.
Blanes Fireworks
2016 sees the Blanes Fireworks Competition return to being a five-day spectacular. The fireworks events had always been held over five days prior to 2012, when the costs of holding the competition aligned with Spain’s well publicized financial difficulties saw it scaled back to four days. The fifth day has been restored thanks to the popularity of the event and the ability of the organizers to attract a larger number of sponsors.
Huge crowds are expected to attend the fireworks competition over the five days, with most attendees choosing to watch from the beach. As many as 100,000 people have historically attended the opening night, with up to 250,000 visitors attending on Saturday, which is the busiest evening for the event. Overall, in excess of 600,000 visitors are expected to attend just the fireworks competitions alone. With others who will be attending to visit Blanes during the Feast celebrations, it is likely there will be over a million visitors to the town over the coming week.
All fireworks displays take place 10:30pm local time. Thankfully, you don’t need to hang around for hours to get a good vantage point, as arriving half an hour beforehand will usually enable you to find somewhere offering a great view. If you’re in a beachfront bar or restaurant enjoying some fine food and drink then you’ll be close by anyway.
Who is Performing at Blanes Fireworks Competition 2016?
10 pyrotechnics companies applied to enter the competition this year. With the winners traditionally being invited back to compete the following year this left four open spots. Here is the schedule along with the company performing at each time.
Friday 22nd July
The opening entrant is Firevision, from China.
Saturday 23rd July
This is likely to be the most anticipated entry, and has aptly been placed on the busiest night. Pirotècnia Accitana Maria Angustias, of Granada, have won the last three competitions in Blanes.
You can check out their winning entry from last year below.
Sunday 24th July
Sunday sees Fireworks Lieto from Italy perform at Blanes.
Monday 25th July
The penultimate entrant is Pirotècnia Pablo, from Asturies, Spain.
Tuesday 26th July
In 2016, the honour of closing the Blanes Fireworks Competition goes to Pirotècnia Hermanos Ferrández, from Murcia, Spain.
If you’re in Blanes over the next few days you’re sure to have an amazing time. If you happen to be elsewhere on the Costa Brava, or in Barcelona, take a trip to Blanes to experience the Feast events and the fireworks competition for yourself.
You can learn more about the Blanes Fireworks Competition at VisitBlanes.com.
Remember that our Super Summer Sale – Firework Crazy’s BIGGEST EVER SALE, is still going on if you’re not planning your holidays and want to have some fun in the summer heat at home.