Italy wins Da Nang international fireworks festival

Italy’s Martarello toppled the U.S.’s PyroVision in the final of the 2018 Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF 2018) to take first place on June 30^th.

An impressive pyrotechnic display from Italy's Martarello. (Photos: DIFF’s organisers)

Dozens of thousands of locals and tourists were present at the event to cheer the teams up.

Apart from the overall theme “The Legend of Bridges”, each of the firework nights also took its own theme, namely Love, Time, Happiness, Desire and Friendship.

The competition that ran from April 30^th to June 30^th attracted eight teams from Vietnam, Poland, France, the U.S., Italy, China’s Hong Kong, Sweden, and Portugal.

The annual event was first held in 2008 and has become a special attraction of Da Nang city.

The firework display of the U.S. team.

In the final, the U.S. team demonstrated its idea of bridges which pave way for dreams and aspirations for all nations to come together through a spectacular performance on lively background music.

Meanwhile, the Italian team treated the audience with a firework display inspired by the beauty of bridges over Han River in Da Nang.

Representatives from the Italian and U.S. team gets the award.

It was the third time an Italian team had won the contest after victories in 2011 and 2012.

In 2013, the U.S. team Melrose Pyrotechnics took first spot. Canada’s Davis Whysall took the top prize in 2008, while China’s Liuyang Dancing won in 2009 and France’s Jacques Couturier Organisation won in 2010.

Other activities were held as part of the firework competition over the past two months such as a street carnival parade, a cuisine festival, and a flash mob dance contest, attracting a large crowd of visitors at home and abroad.

Addressing the final event, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Tran Van Mien said pyrotechnic teams brought eye-catching displays with different emotions to visitors.

“All of the participating teams are the winners in the heart of the audience,” he said.”

The competition also helped promote Da Nang as a memorable destination among international friends, he added.

Da Nang is a popular tourist destination in central Vietnam. The online marketplace and hospitality service Airbnb announced a list of the world’s top 10 destinations for the 2018, in which Da Nang ranked fifth in booking surges of up to 255 percent.

According to the Da Nang Department of Tourism, the number of visitors to the central coastal city is increasing with annual average growth of 20.06 percent in the 2013-2017 period.

In 2017, the city welcomed 6.6 million tourists, 2.1 times higher than the figure in 2013. The tourism industry generated 186,770 jobs in 2017 and grossed over VND 19.5 trillion (USD 854.1 million) in revenues, 2.5-fold increase from 2013.

The city was ranked second in the list of the 10 most popular destinations among solo or couple travelers in 2018, according to the Republic of Korea’s Ticket Monster Inc.

The website said people who plan to travel abroad with family members chose Da Nang as the most popular destination.

The city is also the second-most popular destination among couple of travellers, followed by Bangkok (Thailand) and Guam (the U.S.), it said.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Da Nang was said to be the best place to live in Vietnam with many world-recognised records. It is famous for My Khe Beach, one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet selected by the U.S.’s Forbes Magazine in 2013, the cable line to Ba Na Hills at an altitude of 1,487 metres, and Sun Wheel, which is 115 metres in height and situated in Asian Park, Hai Chau district.

Besides, Da Nang International Airport was ranked third among the best airports in the world in 2014, according to a survey by Dragon Air./.

VNF/VNA