Official launch of Masters de Feu in Compiègne

On 30 April 2016, Compiègne was pulsing to the rhythm of the NRJ Music Tour. In the Place du Palais impérial, thousands of spectators had gathered to applaud the artists of the moment, in the popular, festive atmosphere that accompanies each year the major spring events in Compiègne. That evening, amid music, light and collective enthusiasm, one announcement gave the night a special resonance: the official launch of the Masters de Feu, a new pyrotechnic event set to take place at the Compiègne racecourse on 24 September 2016.

An announcement made before 23,000 spectators

The choice of the NRJ Music Tour was far from incidental. The concert, free and highly anticipated, brought together a large, family-friendly, intergenerational audience. According to the information released at the time, more than 23,000 people attended the evening of 30 April 2016. In a city accustomed to major public gatherings, the event provided the ideal stage to present a new highlight of the autumn season.

It was in this context that the Mayor of Compiègne invited spectators to note the date of 24 September 2016 in their calendars. The announcement, simple and direct, marked the public birth of the Masters de Feu: an event conceived around pyrotechnic art, competition and shared emotion. With just a few months to go, the message was clear: Compiègne would host a spectacular event, designed to bring people together on a large scale and to present fireworks as a true artistic discipline.

From popular concert to pyrotechnic spectacle

This launch during a major open-air concert already said a great deal about the spirit of the Masters de Feu. The event was not aimed solely at fireworks enthusiasts or show professionals. It aspired to reach a broad audience, drawn to music, staging and the magic of an evening experienced together. Announcing the Masters de Feu at the heart of the NRJ Music Tour created a natural bridge between two forms of live performance: the musical stage and the illuminated sky.

The 2016 Compiègne NRJ Music Tour brought together several artists hugely popular with the general public, including Louane, Julian Perretta, Willy William, Ridsa, Souf, Sasha, AlunaGeorge, Kungs and Claudio Capéo. Hosted by Cauet, the evening drew a considerable crowd despite the unkind weather. In this dense, sound-filled and luminous atmosphere, the announcement of the Masters de Feu fit seamlessly into the same spirit: that of major events capable of turning public space into an open stage.

A rendezvous on 24 September 2016 at the Compiègne racecourse

The announced date, 24 September 2016, positioned the Masters de Feu as a major early-autumn event. After summer and before the onset of autumn, the event promised to extend the momentum of open-air evenings in a setting suited to large-scale scenography. The Compiègne racecourse offered a particularly fitting venue: a vast space, open visibility, substantial capacity and a strong connection to the city’s event identity.

The racecourse also allowed the full scope of pyrotechnics to be realised. A competition fireworks display is not limited to a succession of colourful effects. It relies on safety distances, firing architecture, rhythm, musical composition and the audience’s overall perception. In an open space, the tableaux can unfold in width, height and depth. Spectators are no longer simply watching a final bouquet: they are witnessing a complete composition, in which each sequence prepares the next.

Pyrotechnics conceived as an art of performance

From the outset, the very name Masters de Feu reflected ambition. It was not a matter of adding a fireworks display to the local calendar, but of creating an international competition showcasing the expertise of fireworks houses. Pyrotechnics, when designed to this level of excellence, calls on a wide range of skills: artistic conception, musical synchronisation, technical mastery, safety, product knowledge, site analysis and audience awareness.

A major pyrotechnic show is built like a score. Fireworks designers work with colours, heights, rhythms, silences, contrasts and rising intensity. The effects are never merely decorative: they must interact with the music, support a dramatic arc and evoke an emotion that remains legible, even from a distance. This artistic dimension sets major international competitions apart from simple festive displays. The Masters de Feu were precisely part of this logic: to turn the sky above Compiègne into a stage for creation.

Compiègne, a city of major gatherings

The announcement of 30 April 2016 also drew on a favourable local context. Compiègne has a tradition of popular events capable of bringing together large audiences within a strong heritage setting. The Place du Palais impérial, associated with the NRJ Music Tour concert, and the racecourse, chosen for the Masters de Feu, both illustrate this ability to host large-scale events while remaining connected to the city’s identity.

By inviting spectators to remember the date of 24 September, the City placed the Masters de Feu within a broader territorial momentum. Such an event creates a gathering point for residents, attracts visitors, mobilises partners and strengthens the image of a destination able to combine heritage, popular culture and artistic excellence. Fireworks, often associated with national celebrations or one-off festivities, found here a specific framework: that of a structured, anticipated and clearly identified competition.

The starting point of a new story

Looking back, this announcement appears as the first public chapter of a pyrotechnic adventure destined to become part of the Compiègne event landscape. On 30 April 2016, the Masters de Feu were still only a promise launched to a concert crowd. A few months later, on 24 September, that promise was to take shape at the Compiègne racecourse, in the form of a major event dedicated to fireworks designers, the public and the emotion of an open-sky spectacle.

This official launch remains a founding moment: the moment when the Masters de Feu were presented not as a simple entertainment, but as a destination event, capable of bringing together music, night, technique and imagination. In Compiègne that evening, the announcement of a forthcoming fireworks display found its natural setting amid another great popular spectacle. The countdown to 24 September 2016 had begun.