By HIDEKI MUROYA/ Staff Writer
June 26, 2023 at 07:30 JST
A scene from the Omagari fireworks festival held in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Aug. 31, 2019 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
DAISEN, Akita Prefecture--Thunderous booms will echo in the night sky here on Aug. 26, all in the name of peace.
That is when the All-Japan National Fireworks Competition will be held along the Omonogawa river.
The event, more commonly known as the Omagari fireworks festival, will feature 18,000 fireworks in total, the executive committee said.
Seeing as peace is the theme of this year’s festival, the 95th to be held, fireworks inspired by the sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine.
The festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held last year, but with a reduced number of seats for spectators and without street stalls.
This year, about 100 stalls will be set up at the venue for the first time in four years.
“We felt the preciousness of peace because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Yasushi Saito, head of the Omagari Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Now is the time to promote the peaceful use of gunpowder to the world.”
The executive committee expects around 750,000 spectators this year.
Tickets for 99,000 prepaid viewing seats are currently on sale online.
For more information, visit the official website at (https://www.oomagari-hanabi.com/).
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