Winner of Vancouver's annual fireworks competition unveiled

The winner of Vancouver's annual fireworks competition was unveiled by organizers Tuesday.

This year's Celebration of Light pitted teams from Canada, Spain and Japan against each other and, according to organizers, the home team emerged the victor.

Those behind the world's longest running offshore fireworks competition – now in its 30th year – said Japan's Akariya Fireworks and Spain's Pirotecnia Zaragozana put on good shows on the Saturdays that bookended the event, but felt Wednesday's was the most breathtaking.

Yukon-based Midnight Sun Fireworks "pushed creative boundaries," a news release Tuesday said.

"Canada executed their performance to near perfection, taking advantage of the barge space and maximizing the limitations of their equipment to deliver a show we'll be talking about for years to come," president of Archangel Fireworks Inc. Kelly Guille said in the release.

"There wasn't any moment that didn't feel carefully curated – the visuals, soundtrack and overall energy was utilized to its full potential."

The event brought 1.3 million people over three days to viewing areas around the city's waterfront.

This year was the first time the event has been held since the start of the pandemic. The theme was "heroes."