PUTRAJAYA: Visitors rocked and rolled the night away as team Canada painted the skies over the city with a colourful display of fireworks at the second Malaysia International Fireworks Competition (MIFC) last night.

Canada showcased some 21 minutes of pyrotechnical splendour with a dazzling variety of fireworks such as the "mines", "comets", and "flying saucers" that exploded in rhythm to upbeat and catchy tunes.

The display, themed "Music from the Stage and Silver Screen", saw visitors singing and swaying to popular hits by famous artistes like Celine Dion, Abba, Queen and Lou Bega.

"We wanted to be different from the other teams who usually feature classical music," said team Canada member Beth Whysall.

Beth, who is the daughter of David Whysall, founder of David Whysall International Fireworks Inc, said that experimenting and working with fireworks ran in the family since her grandmother worked in a fireworks factory back in England.
Her 64-year-old father, David has been in the fireworks business for more than 40 years, and is the brains behind the choreography and artistry that created the performance last night.

"Early this year, we managed to snag first place in the 2008 Da Nang International Fireworks Competition in Vietnam," she added.

This is the fourth time that the company is participating in a competition.

Team Malaysia kicked off the event on Aug 12, while China showcased their display on Aug 16.

After Canada, Spain is expected to put on a show on Aug 24.

The finale on Aug 29 will show a presentation by last year's champion, Australia's Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics.

This will be followed by an announcement of this year's MIFC winners.