On Monday, Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung chaired a meeting to check the preparations for the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF) 2017.

The spectacular winning display by Team Australia at DIFC 2015

This year’s festival entitled ‘Toa Sang Ngu Hanh Son’ (Shining Marble Mountains) will be held between 29 April and 24 June.  It is expected that 8 teams will participate - Switzerland, Japan, China, the UK, Italy, Australia, Austria, and Da Nang-Viet Nam.

In a change this year, the real estate developer Sun Group has been chosen to be the organiser of this year’s festival, and it will now be responsible for appealing for donations from generous sponsors for the event.

According to a spokesperson for Sun Group, the total organisational cost of DIFF 2017 is expected to be around 180 billion VND.  The Global2000 Company from Malaysia continues to be the consultant for the event, as in previous years.  The fireworks will be set off at the former Han River Port near the Novotel on Bach Dang, whilst viewing stands for spectators will be set up on the eastern bank of the Han River, again as in previous years.  The ticket prices will remain unchanged from last time, 2 years ago.

One of the differences this year is that the main stage will be bigger and more imposing than in previous years, with modern lighting and sound systems and a stage floating on the river.

Vice Chairman Dung urged local relevant agencies to prepare well for the event, and to plan cultural activities such as street music programmes, a cuisine festival, and candle lighting activities to pay tribute to heroic martyrs.  They were asked to complete their detailed plans for DIFF and the cultural activities by late this month.

He said that importance should also be attached to publishing DIFF-related information for domestic and foreign visitors, advertising the festival in foreign countries, and developing detailed plans for parades of flower-decorated boats on the river.  Heed should be paid to creating more tourism products featuring the special characteristics of the land and people of Da Nang in order to sell them at hotels and tourist souvenir stands and kiosks. 

Mr Dung asked for greater efforts to be made to check food safety and hygiene, and the displaying of prices at local food and drinking establishments, and to prepare well for such facilities as the main stage, the viewing stands, and the fireworks launching and storing yards.