Following Saigon, Hanoi to bring back fireworks for Lunar New Year

Hanoi authorities have announced the inclusion of fireworks shows alongside cultural performances and sports activities in the capital's Lunar New Year, or Tet, 2018 celebration.

After being absent last year, fireworks would return to multiple locations across the city on the Lunar New Year's Eve, which falls at midnight on February 16.

Hanoi has tasked its military's High Command with drafting a detailed plan for the shows. In previous years' celebrations, Hanoi usually threw 30 fireworks shows across the city, with five big ones at Hoan Kiem Lake, Thong Nhat Park, Lac Long Quan Flower Garden, Van Quan Lake and My Dinh National Stadium. Meanwhile the capital's remaining 25 districts and towns each had a small fireworks show.

Fireworks would return to Hoan Kiem Lake for this year's Lunar New Year celebrations. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

To welcome the new lunar year, the city would also put up decorative lights along main roads, residential areas, parks, flower gardens, large structures and areas around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ba Dinh Square.

Last month Ho Chi Minh City also obtained the government's permission to celebrate Lunar New Year with fireworks. The southern city would accordingly launch six fireworks shows at Thu Thiem Tunnel that links districts 1 and 2, Dam Sen Park in District 11, Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Rung Sac Square in Can Gio District, Lang Le-Bau Co historical site in Binh Chanh District and Nga Ba Giong Memorial in Hoc Mon District.

Major Vietnamese cities, including HCMC, Hanoi and Da Nang, skipped their fireworks shows to celebrate the new year in 2017 following the Party’s call for austerity. The Party asked cities and provinces to reallocate the money planned for fireworks shows to help the poor and the needy, especially those hit hard by natural disasters.

Flooding and storms left 389 people dead or missing in Vietnam in 2017. The toll surpassed last year's losses, when disasters killed 264 people. Natural disasters also costed the country about VND60 trillion ($2.65 billion) in damages, 1.5 times that of 2016.

However the Communist Party's Secretariat last month issued a directive allowing municipalities to once again launch fireworks during New Year celebrations on the conditions that they do not use the state budget and the events must be safe.