Photo/Illutration Organizers said 20,000 fireworks illuminated the night sky over the course of 90 minutes at the Sumida River Fireworks Festival in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward on July 27, 2019. (Ryo Ikeda)

One of Tokyo’s most popular fireworks festivals will return in a blaze of glory this summer for the first time in four years following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

“We will do our best to make sure the Sumida River Fireworks Festival is held safely,” said an organizing committee member of plans to hold the midsummer tradition on the same scale as in pre-pandemic times.

The 90-minute extravaganza will kick off at 7 p.m. on July 29, and is expected to attract more than 900,000 spectators, organizers said.

The event this year will feature 20,000 fireworks set off from two locations, less than 2 kilometers apart, on the  Sumidagawa river.

The first site will be located between the Sakurabashi and Kototoibashi bridges, and the other between the Komagatabashi and Umayabashi bridges further downriver.

The organizing committee met April 11 to formally agree to the decision, given that the novel coronavirus will be downgraded May 8 to Category 5, a group of less-severe infectious diseases.

Spectators will, however, be asked to abide by whatever COVID-related instructions are issued by the metropolitan and central governments.

The committee is made up of officials from the metropolitan government and the capital’s five wards along the river: Taito, Sumida, Arakawa, Chuo and Koto.

The much-loved pyrotechnics display was first held in 1733 during the Edo Period (1603-1867).

In 1962, the festival was dropped from the capital’s event calendar due to traffic congestion and other issues. It staged its comeback in 1978.

Related News