Busan International Fireworks Festival

Busan International Fireworks Festival
4th Busan International Fireworks Festival
Location	Gwangalli Beach, Busan, South Korea
Founded	2005
Hosted by	Busan Metropolitan City
Festival date	Oct. 21, 2011 ~ Oct. 29, 2011
Website	http://www.bff.or.kr/ENG/Fireworks/01.asp

Busan International Fireworks Festival (Korean: 부산국제불꽃축제), held annually in Gwangalli Beach, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant fireworks festivals in Asia. Tens of thousands of fireworks and state-of-the-art lasers light up the sky in harmony with the theme song of the festival against a backdrop of the sea and 2 level suspension bridge, Gwangan Bridge.

History

the fascinating fireworks display was held to celebrate the 2005 APEC Busan Summit. It left a great impression on viewers and was very popular. As a result, it became an annual festival.
In 2010 the festival attracted about 2.52 million visitors from all over the country and abroad.^[1]
In 2011 the Busan International Fireworks Festival is held from October 21 to October 29, 2011.
In 2012 it held from October 26 to October 28 at Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Gwangalli Beach and Gwangan Bridge. But the festival which was scheduled to held on October 27 was delayed because of heavy rain.
In 2013 it held from October 25 to October 26.
In 2014 it held from October 24 to October 25.
In 2015 it held from October 23 to October 24. It was held with Tsushima at the same time.^[2]

Criticism

In 2008, there was heavy traffic jam over the Busan. It took long time to pass the road, especially, traffic jams near Gwangalli Beach were more severe. In addition, some intercity buses passing through Gwangan Bridge were delayed or cancelled. The traffic was made worse by the many people gathered around Gwangalli Beach.^[3]
Facilities such as hotels, restaurants and bars that were located near the event site were criticized by tourists because they raised their prices up to ten times.^[4]
After the festival, Gwangalli Beach was full of so much trash because many visitors threw away newspaper and food waste along the road.^[5]
The problem arose with the respect to the high probability of accident. Also basic facilities such as toilet were not enough.^[6]
The environmental pollution was pointed out. Heavy metals and toxic substances diffused into the air and these contaminants sank into the Gwangalli Beach.^[7] ^[8]