Masters de Feu 2022: een pyrotechnische reis rond de wereld

In 2022, Masters de Feu chose to take the audience on a journey without leaving Compiègne. Under the theme « Around the World », the evening of 17 September transformed the racecourse into an open stage for continents, cultures and imaginations. Following an initial historic sequence concluded by a French victory in the previous editions, the competition entered a new dynamic: the selections for the Silver Master, the first step toward the grand final of the Gold Master. The objective was clear: bring together European pyrotechnic houses, set them a shared theme, then let their artistic signature speak in the sky.

A universal theme to open a new stage of the competition

« Around the World » is more than just an appealing title. For a pyrotechnic competition, it is a demanding promise. It invites pyrotechnicians to evoke landscapes, rhythms, colours, journeys, and sometimes even collective memories. A synchronised fireworks display is not limited to the intensity of the bursts: it tells a story, it composes, it creates a progression. By choosing this theme, Masters de Feu offered the teams the chance to build a visual and musical narrative capable of crossing borders, while remaining accessible to a family audience coming above all to experience a powerful outdoor emotion.

This edition also marked the launch of a new competition cycle. Over three years of selections, the invited teams had to compete for the status of Silver Master. The winners of these successive events would then be set to meet again in a grand final, with the Gold Master as the horizon. This format gives the competition a rare dimension: each evening exists as a complete show, but it also forms part of a longer, almost sporting trajectory, where consistency, creativity and the ability to captivate both jury and audience truly matter.

Four European nations facing the Compiègne sky

To open this new selection season, four countries were announced in competition: Spain, France, Slovakia and Switzerland. Each arrived with its own history, its composition habits and its way of balancing music and pyrotechnics. Behind these nations stood several houses and designers representing different schools: Hermanos Caballer Pirotécnicos for Spain, Carat Pyrotechnie for France, Privatex-Pyro for Slovakia and Sugyp for Switzerland. Through them, the audience could measure the richness of an art often reduced to its brilliance, when in fact it relies on a finely tuned mechanism: choice of calibres, height of effects, tempo, colours, transitions, silences and finale.

France arrived with particular expectations, fuelled by the memory of the tricolour victory in the first Masters de Feu series. But the spirit of the competition is not simply about defending a flag. It is about comparing pyrotechnic writing, understanding how a team interprets a theme, and then feeling whether the whole work delivers on its promise. One show may impress through its power, another through its finesse, a third through its sense of narrative. In an international competition, the difference is often decided by these details: a perfectly timed sequence, a bold colour palette, a dramatic build-up that finds the right balance.

Six shows for a grand-scale evening

The 2022 edition announced not one, but six shows. This generous format gave the evening a particular scope. The four competing displays were joined by an opening show and a closing show, making it possible to create a true journey. The audience was therefore not simply watching a succession of launches, but a staged evening with an introduction, a competitive core and a conclusion crafted by a recognised artistic partner of the event. This structure is one of the strengths of Masters de Feu: it sustains tension, varies the signatures and allows comparison without diminishing the spectacle.

The opening show had a distinctive character, as it was entrusted to Thomas Decorte, distinguished by the award for best young designer. This invitation gave room to the next generation in a field where know-how is passed on as much as it is invented. Opening a competition evening is a delicate exercise: the atmosphere must be set, attention captured, the tone established without exhausting the element of surprise. By placing a young talent in this strategic slot, Masters de Feu reminded everyone that pyrotechnics is a living art, nourished by the experience of major houses as much as by the boldness of new generations.

ARTEVENTIA for the finale, the signature of a historic partner

As in previous editions, the evening was to conclude with a closing show by ARTEVENTIA, official partner of Masters de Feu. This out-of-competition sequence plays an important role in how the event is perceived. After the competing teams’ proposals, it offers the audience one last rise in intensity, more focused on celebration than on evaluation. The closing show acts as a final salute: it gathers the gaze, extends the emotion and leaves the racecourse bathed in that suspended light that lingers in the memory of great night-time spectacles.

ARTEVENTIA’s presence also highlights the central role of production in this type of event. A fireworks competition is not simply a matter of inviting teams and opening the gates to the public. It requires coordination of safety, technical operations, hospitality, setup times, firing areas, musical constraints, access and the smooth flow of the evening. The magic visible from the stands relies on extremely precise organisation. The more natural the show appears, the greater the work behind the scenes.

The Compiègne racecourse, a setting designed for great pyrotechnic nights

The choice of the Compiègne racecourse gives Masters de Feu a strong identity. The site offers the space needed for large-scale firing, while allowing the audience a wide field of view. In a pyromusical show, distance, perspective and the openness of the sky play a decisive role. The effects must be able to unfold, breathe and form readable luminous architectures. The racecourse then becomes more than a reception venue: it acts as a panoramic stage, with depth, lines and a direct relationship to the night.

For spectators, the experience begins even before the first launch. Arriving on site, waiting as dusk falls, talking about the competing countries, discovering the theme and feeling anticipation build all contribute to the evening’s dramaturgy. Masters de Feu has the ability to bring together several audiences: pyrotechnics enthusiasts, families, curious visitors, music lovers, residents of the Oise and guests who have come especially for the event. For a few hours, all share the same attention directed toward the sky.

Pyrotechnics as a common language

The theme « Around the World » highlighted what pyrotechnics has at its most universal. Colours, rhythms and shapes speak immediately, beyond language. But this immediacy should not make us forget the sophistication of the craft. Behind every tableau lies a firing score, product choices, analysis of the soundtrack, and careful thought about heights and volumes. A golden effect can evoke celebration, a deep blue can open a more contemplative space, a fast sequence can convey the energy of a city or a dance. Success lies in the harmony between intention and sensation.

By asking Spain, France, Slovakia and Switzerland to embrace the same theme, Masters de Feu gave the audience the tools for a fascinating comparison. How does each team imagine travel? Through music, colour, exoticism, poetry, or the power of the finale? This kind of artistic confrontation is what makes the competition so compelling. It is not about producing the loudest fireworks, but the most accurate, coherent and memorable show.

A pivotal edition on the road to the Gold Master

The 2022 edition will remain a starting point: that of a new selection series leading to the Gold Master. It set the scene, established the first artistic rivalries and reaffirmed the ambition of the Compiègne event: to make fireworks an art of composition, emotion and competition. With its six shows, its opening entrusted to a young designer, its four European nations and its closing show by ARTEVENTIA, the « Around the World » evening brought together the essential ingredients of a major popular yet demanding event.

At Masters de Feu, the journey often begins with a spark. In 2022, it took the form of an invitation to travel the world through light, sound and imagination. The audience in Compiègne had not simply come to watch fireworks: it had come to choose, feel, compare, applaud and take part in a pyrotechnic adventure built to last. It is this combination of international competition and collective emotion that makes Masters de Feu unique, and that gives each edition the promise of a lasting memory.