A giant Vietnamese national flag, measured at 60 meters long and 30 meters wide, was pulled into the sky by two hot-air balloons in Ho Chi Minh City for the first time ever in the excitement of people celebrating National Day, September 2.

On Friday morning, numerous people congregated at the Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 and the banks of the Saigon River in Thu Duc City to watch the two large hot-air balloons pulling a great Vietnamese flag into the sky from a riverside area in Thu Duc at 8:00 am.

Along with these balloons, eight other colorful ones, with smaller sizes, were also released into the sky, while a performance of standup paddleboarding (SUP) was conducted on the river, creating a very lively and stunning spectacle.

These activities were within the framework of the Independent Tet Festival launched on Friday in Ho Chi Minh City by the municipal Organizing Board of Major Holidays to celebrate the 77th National Day, said the city’s Department of Culture and Sports.

Among the crowd, Phuong from Binh Thanh District told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that she and her family were absolutely eager to see the great national flag, with an area of 1,800 square meters, being pulled up into the city sky.

“The weather is a bit hot today, but everyone is excited to watch the country’s flag on a meaningful day like today," Phuong said.

“It is a truly emotional and touching moment for me to see it streaming in the sky.”

Nguyen Dinh Nam, who lives in Go Vap district, said he had taken his children to the riverbank as early as 7:00 am to prepare for watching the event of pulling the national flag using hot-air balloons, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

“We are really excited to see the national flag on this meaningful day as the Independent Tet,” Nam said.

Pulling such a big flag into the sky is an extremely complicated task because it depends heavily on weather conditions and wind direction, Vo Trong Nam, deputy director of the said department, told Tuoi Tre.

Unlike during the test on Thursday, he said, the weather on Friday morning was clearer and finer, but the wind direction changed constantly, requiring the balloon crew to make a lot of effort to fulfill their task.

“The entire crew of 120 members coordinated smoothly and exerted technical measures to successfully raise the flag into the sky with the two big balloons,” Nam said.

As part of the festival, many other activities including paragliding, sailboat racing, and river skiing were also held after the flag-pulling performance, Nam added.

The same release of hot-air balloons to pull the national flag into the sky was performed again at 3:00 pm on Friday.

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