The Vietnamese team lights up the Han River in the central city to kick off the 2019 Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF). This is the 10th edition of the annual festival.

DIFF 2019, with the theme "Stories by Rivers," will feature eight countries, the others being Italy, Brazil, China, Britain, Belgium, and Finland. Vietnam's performance, titled "Legends of the Two Banks," told the story of Da Nang’s efforts to develop and integrate.

In its 20-minute performance, Vietnam used 4,000 fireworks with various effects and matching music. 

They included shell fireworks, Roman candle fireworks, comets, bombette.

The wind was not strong enough to blow the smoke out of the way, affecting the view from the main stands for spectators.

The Russian team came right after Vietnam with a mix of high- and low-altitude fireworks.

This is the second time Russia is participating in the festival. It has brought 3,000 fireworks of various types.

The theme of Russia's performance was "The Dance of Fire and Water" and narrated the story of these two strong elements that are the root of life.

The Russian performance too was affected by the smoke and also cloudy weather.

The smoke billowed into the stands where thousands of people were seated.

The festival will go on for five weeks. The finale will take place on July 6 with a matchup between the best two teams after four elimination rounds. Brazil and Belgium will go next on June 8 while the contest between three-time champions Italy and Finland will be on June 15. Britain and China will compete on June 22.