A traditional summer event in Shiga Prefecture, Japan"Lake Biwa Great Fireworks Festival"Held in August 2023, for the first time in four years since the pandemic, the Kodai Fireworks Festival naturally attracted a large number of people from all over Kansai, Japan. However, considering the severe congestion near the venue and the impact on local residents, the organizers made an unprecedented request.
The Lake Biwa Fireworks Festival is one of Shiga Prefecture's most popular summer events, attracting around 350,000 visitors each year, almost the population of Otsu City, where it is held.
Such an event should have been hyped up and encouraged to participate. The organizers made an unusual "request": since a large number of spectators were expected, if you did not purchase tickets for the paid spectator seats, pleaseDon'tTo**. In Japan, where thousands of visitors come and everyone who comes, such a straightforward and rude eviction order is afraid that it will break through the sky.
In fact, fireworks festivals usually sell tickets for paid seats, and the organizers will provide seating, floor berths, and even food and drinks in the most suitable areas for watching the fireworks. This paid area is naturally isolated by fences, etc., and spectators need to enter with tickets, which is understandable. And for those who watch fireworks for free outside the paid area, they generally do not deliberately drive away. After all, fireworks themselves are also a "public good", and there is no guarantee that no one will hitchhike. Moreover, the more people who come, it is also good for increasing the visibility of the event, and it will also be able to attract more paying audiences in the coming year. For localities, the increase in the number of tourists has boosted local tourism consumption. Catering, accommodation, night markets, temple fairs, and round-trip transportation near the fireworks festival venue will increase financial revenue, so it is natural to see it happen.
However, this fireworks display is held again after a long time. The organizers considered that the number of people was too large to manage, and the limited infrastructure of Otsu City itself could not withstand the large number of tourists in a short period of time. The viewing area is also located on the shore of the lake, not far from the road along the lake, and the large number of people may crowd the traffic and even cause danger. Residents living near the venue have long been disturbed by illegal acts such as noise, garbage, and illegal intrusion caused to visitors. Just a month before the countdown to the conference, a local resident sent a letter opposing the holding of the fireworks display.
It is in this context that the organizers will make the above request. At the same time, in order to refuse free visitors, the organizers also set up barriers and visual barriers on the roads along the lake to prevent people from stopping at the free ** fireworks. Although the organizers' concerns have some validity, they still make people wonder if their real purpose is not to force people to pay**. More than 10 years ago, the Japanese lived by the lake, and once watched the fireworks from across the lake for free, but now this kind of fun is no longer available.
Naturally, people will not be silent, and they express their ** through actions such as picking up fences. Some local residents also objected to the fireworks festival on this ground, saying that the erection of the fence had increased people's sense of isolation and unhappiness, and people could not help but question why and for whom such a fireworks festival was held. Indeed, when Japan's traditional summer entertainment gradually became the exclusive preserve of the wealthy class, the cultural significance of fireworks festivals really needed to be redefined.