Epic Fireworks Blog

Archive for the ‘Olympics Fireworks’ Category

Sport for athletes with a disability has existed for more than 100 years but it was not until after the second World War that the games were widely introduced.

In 1944 a noted German neurologist Dr Guttman opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the UK, transforming the care of servicemen injured in the line of duty forever.  He actively encouraged patients to get involved in wheelchair polo and basketball to aid their recovery of the mind as well as the rest of the body.

On the first day of theLondon1948 Olympics, Dr Guttmann held the first ever Archery competition for wheelchair athletes which started the Stoke Mandeville Games.  From there on in, the Stoke Mandeville Games were held annually and in 1952, competitors from the Netherlands joined in creating the International Stoke Mandeville games.

In 1960, the first every Paralympics were held in Rome giving them the high profile that they hold today, becoming the second biggest sporting event on earth with 400 athletes from 23 countries.

1976 saw the birth of the first Winter Paralympics and this event continues to this day.

Since the 1988 games in Seoul, the games have been held in the same place as the Olympics.

In London 2012 there will be 4,280 athletes competing for the 503 gold medals to be awarded.

However you feel about sport, to these competitors, it is a massive feat of mental and physical prowess to overcome some pretty terrible injuries and birth defects.  Show your support for them by taking in as much of this wonderful event as possible over the next couple of weeks.

The opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games may not be on the same scale as the Olympics, but you are still going to see some pretty amazing sportsmen and women and a few fireworks.  Featuring 3000 volunteers, 50 of who are disabled performers who have learned circus skills from scratch.  The show is called ‘Enlightenment’ which is more thought provoking, focussing on achievement against the odds and forward thinking individuals who have impacted on the World due to their scientific vision and advances.

The 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony was watched by a staggering estimated one billion people whilst some it would seem had their eyes trained elsewhere.

There have been literally hundreds of sightings of the UFO seen by some on Sky News and other media outlets. However exciting Danny Boyle’s Olympic Opening Ceremony may have been, I for one very much doubt that the little green men would have travelled multiples of millions of miles across the universe in order to come to London to see the fireworks now do you?

However unlikely the visit from outer space may be to Joe normal in the street, there are an increasingly large number of ‘experts’, trying to convince the World and its mother otherwise.

The space craft was actually a Goodyear Blimp that had been in the air for most of the week before in and around London and the Boroughs so no surprises there. The footage of the space ship was initially posted onto YouTube by Mr Scipher which has since set off this global phenomena. There was a ‘prediction’ by one of the UK’s most prominent UFO experts, Nick Pope, who had said that the 2012 Olympics could attract extraterrestrial visitors who want to reveal their presence to mankind. Of course the more sceptical of us might think why in gods name are the ET’s interested in the slightest in our sporting achievements or indeed about making it onto the World Stage.

According to the National Press, Downing Street has already shown a limited interest in all things UFO but maintained that they want to be kept in the loop following a number of accusations that there are matters being kept from the general populace in relation to sightings, resulting in demands to make any ‘evidence’ documented be made available.

There is one thing for certain, the London Olympics 2012 will certainly earn the distinction of the greatest show in the history of mankind if it turns out that alien tourists showed up for the opening ceremony!! And if it is not a Goodyear blimp, then London Olympics 2012 may rank in the archives of UFO history along with the Roswell sighting.

The use of fireworks has changed greatly over the years. It is hard to remember when or how it was first introduced in the sporting arena, but if we fast forward history more than a couple of centuries, you can hardly separate fireworks and sports. In fact, one could say that they go together like guns and ammunition’s and are gradually becoming inseparable in the international and or local sporting events.

Imagine a world cup or Olympic or UEFA or FA cup Final without fireworks display at the beginning and or at the end.

The wonderful display of fireworks during the closing ceremony of the Olympics 2004 was one of those amazing moments for the whole of Greece as the city of Athens was lit with biggest fireworks display ever seen.

The 2008 summer Olympic games opening ceremony in China will ever remain in our memories. The whole world was treated to a mind-blowing fireworks display. The Chinese have raised the relationship between fireworks and sports to a higher level. Invariably, countries now compete in this regard as any host country will always aim to ‘out do’ the previous one. One could say that much is expected from Britain in this regards.

The fact is that fireworks displays are used even prior to the starting of the sporting event itself.

In 2004’s summer Olympic bid, whilst the Turkish national Olympic committee were putting the finishing touches to their bid to host the Olympics in Istanbul, the sky was lit up like a Christmas tree as fireworks were fired from passing ships and the Bosphorous bridge.

The show lasted for one hour and an estimated 40 tons of fireworks were launch into the air from the boat and the bridge— forming a magnificent spectacle of colours.

In Britain, the show has already started with fireworks displayed to mark the 1000 days count down to the Olympics in London. This is just the tip of the ice berg. Do not miss the opening ceremony of London 2012. However, not only the sports organisers or governmental bodies are engulfed in this tsunami. The individual’s use of fireworks to celebrate victories/achievements of their clubs or fans in the field of sports are growing rapidly also.

When Man City won the premier league this year, there was upsurge in the sale of 64 shots cobolt blue because of the blue colour (Same also for Chelsea). The sale of the Sky Thriller Rocket, the Thunderous Finale and the Screaming Spider barrage, just to mention a few, were all very high.

In fact Epic fireworks recorded an unusual increase in sales during the period. No doubt success and quality go together. One may not be far from truth to predict that as long as team GB continues to rake in the gold medal in the forthcoming Olympic games, we shall continue to light up the sky with colourful firework displays.

Finally, this article will not be complete if we fail to further examine this bond of chemistry between fireworks and sports. Such loving companions still remain a mystery. Of course, no doubt both provide good entertainment. However, when moment of glory in sports and the amazing moment in fireworks strike a balance at the right timing, they combine to make something extra ordinary. We always see tears of joy in these moments.

The 2012 Olympic Games without a fireworks display will be like salt without taste value.

Mexon