The Taichung City Government on Tuesday apologized for issues with its Double Ten National Day fireworks display, after visitors complained about the fireworks starting 20 minutes early, the sudden cancelation of a planned drone show and poor stage setup.
The show on Tuesday evening was the first time in nine years the national fireworks display was held in Taichung.
The city government had planned a 36-minute fireworks display at Taichung Central Park accompanied for the first time by jazz music and a drone show, and followed by musical performances by Fire EX, OSN and other popular acts.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
However, the fireworks display began 20 minutes early at 7:40pm, causing some people to miss it and affecting the performances afterward, while the drone component was canceled altogether.
Visitors also complained about the stage setup, saying the performers had their backs to most of the audience.
In response, the Taichung City Government said it had originally scheduled 30 minutes for speeches, but the speakers kept their remarks concise out of consideration for the public.
Since there was nothing scheduled to fill the extra time, the organizers began the display early “without taking into account spectators’ plans,” it said, apologizing for the planning flaws.
The drones were canceled due to security and safety considerations, as more than 20 unidentified drones had intruded on the restricted airspace above the venue, causing signal interference, it said.
As for the stage setup, the city government said the original design was intended to enable viewing from all sides.
However, since it was being live streamed, the artists primarily faced the camera and had difficulty shifting their instruments to also perform for the audience behind them at the venue, it said, but added that two large screens had been set up for spectators.
The city government vowed to review its design for similar staging in the future.
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