Ho Chi Minh City will not hold fireworks displays on National Day (September 2) this year, but it will host a hot-air balloon show instead, the municipal Department of Culture and Sports announced on Thursday afternoon.

Hot-air balloons will lift a gigantic 1,800-square-meter national flag into the sky above the Thu Thiem Tunnel in Thu Duc City at 8:00 am on September 2, according to the department’s deputy director Vo Trong Nam.

In addition, many water sports and paramotoring activities will take place on both sides of the tunnel and near Bach Dang Wharf in District 1.

On the same day, several cultural, artistic, and sports events will be held on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street and at the Ho Chi Minh City Municipal Theater in the same district, as well as at the cultural centers and parks in Thu Duc City and other districts.

Art performances on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street will feature DJs and EDM music starting at 8:00 pm and lasting until 10:30 pm on September 2.

In Cu Chi District, some 38 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City’s center, residents can enjoy a culture, cuisine, and tourism festival from September 1 through 4 at the Cu Chi cultural park, according to Nguyen Van Nhon, a local official.

Vietnamese law allows all institutions, organizations, enterprises, and individuals with legal capacity to light up fireworks during public holidays like Lunar New Year festivals, the death anniversary of Hung Kings, National Day (September 2), the Dien Bien Phu victory anniversary (May 7), and Reunification Day (April 30).

It is worth noting that the fireworks that are permitted must not be the kind that explodes.

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