Leopoldo Gómez (Mexico) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Early attendees of the Philadelphia Flower Show are in for a special treat: From March 1-3, visitors will be able to witness five of six rounds in the FTD World Cup 2019.
The Philadelphia Flower Show is hosting the international competition in the U.S. for the first time since 1985. Within the three days, the most creative floral designers, representing 23 countries, will be tasked with creating larger-than-life floral creations from predetermined themes and surprise packages of materials.
Natalia Zhizhko (Russia) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
To qualify for the World Cup of the Floral Industry, each competitor had to previously win national competitions crowning them as the representative of their home country.
Two preliminary rounds kicked off the competition on March 1. The second, creating a hand-tied bouquet to demonstrate the relationship between color and light (or strength of color), occurred during the sneak peek of the Philadelphia Flower Show.
Wei Yao (China) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
The finished floral creations will remain on display throughout the Philadelphia Flower Show, which runs from March 2 - March 10 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
For more info on the latest news, check out FTD World Cup 2019's Instagram account.
UPDATE (3/9/19): Congratulations to the Interflora World Cup Champion Bart Hassam of Australia.
Photos featured with this story are just a handful of the talented floral designers competing for the chance to become Interflora Cup champion.
Hans Zijlstra (The Netherlands) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
Solomon Leong (Hong Kong) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
Premysl Hytych (Czech Republic) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
Lina Roig (Spain) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
Stephan Triebe (Germany) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
Kristine Gudiksen (Denmark) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.
Herve Frezal (France) competes during the second round of the FTD World Cup 2019, for the chance to be named Interflora Cup champion.