HCM City seeks permission for Reunification Day fireworks shows
Ho Chi Minh City is seeking government approval to hold fireworks shows throughout the city in commemoration of the 42th anniversary of Reunification Day on April 30.
This is the first time the Ho Chi Minh City administration has sought permission from the government for the traditional Reunification Day fireworks displays.
Last year the Secretariat of the Communist Party, the constitution’s highest implementation body, requested that all provinces and cities refrain from fireworks displays during Tet, or the Lunar New Year, falling late January 2017, and instead redirect funds earmarked for the shows to support the poor.
Salaried workers in Vietnam will have a holiday later this month, observing Reunification Day and the Labor Day on May 1.
The Ho Chi Minh City chairman said that funds for the shows would be raised from the private sector rather than the city’s own budget.
According to a government decree in 2009, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are allowed to hold fireworks displays, lasting no longer than 15 minutes, at 9:00 pm on April 30.
Ho Chi Minh City authorities are using that decree as grounds for the planned fireworks shows.
If approved, one high-range fireworks display will be held atop the Thu Thiem Tunnel in District 2, while three shows with lower range fireworks will take place at the Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11 and the outer districts of Can Gio and Cu Chi from 9:00 pm to 9:15 pm.