4-5 Days Yeouido Hosts Bitseom Festival Followed by Fireworks Festival
Peripheral Area Control, Subway Non-Stop, Bus Detours
Advanced Traffic Control Using CCTV and Drones Applied
With an expected crowd of one million people at the Seoul International Fireworks Festival to be held in Yeouido, Seoul on the 5th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has prepared a comprehensive safety plan. The city plans to do its utmost to ensure citizens' safety by implementing full perimeter control, non-stop subway operations, bus detours, subway station closures, and even a traffic control system using drones.
According to Seoul City on the 4th, the city will hold the '2024 Seoul Light Hangang Light Island Festival' at Yeouido Hangang Park starting with the opening ceremony that day. The Light Island Festival is a project aimed at making the Hangang River a world-class light festival venue, held annually on a rotating basis.
The fireworks festival will take place on the 5th. Marking its 20th anniversary this year, the Seoul International Fireworks Festival will feature participation from three countries: Korea, the United States, and Japan, under the theme "You, who paint your dreams like colorful fireworks." The event will run for 90 minutes starting at 7 p.m. on the 5th.
The challenge lies in the expected crowd of up to one million people. Although the police reportedly requested a schedule change at a joint meeting of related agencies due to the large-scale events occurring on consecutive days, Seoul City is known to have chosen to strengthen safety measures instead.
First, Seoul City, in cooperation with related organizations including the organizer Hanwha, the Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Yeongdeungpo and Yongsan District Offices, and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, has set up a comprehensive safety headquarters at the event site and increased safety personnel by 28% compared to last year. Safety management will also be intensively inspected before the event. On the 4th and 5th, all related agencies including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, police, and fire authorities will review crowd control measures and facility safety management.
On the day of the event, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 5th, Yeoidong-ro (from the southern end of Mapo Bridge to in front of the 63 Building) around the venue will be fully closed. All buses and other vehicles will be rerouted, and subway lines 5 and 9 will operate additional trains, 18 and 52 extra runs respectively. Yeouinaru Station on Line 5 may be passed without stopping depending on congestion inside the station. In particular, after the event ends, all exits of Yeouinaru Station may be closed to help disperse the crowd. Not only in Yeouido, but also on the day of the event from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., 14 bus routes crossing Hangang Bridge will not stop at stops such as the Observatory Cafe and Nodeul Island.
Nodeul Island will have its lower section access restricted from 9 p.m. on the 4th until 10 p.m. on the 5th, with some areas such as the outdoor terrace also restricted. Wonhyo Bridge will be closed to pedestrians during the event. On the day of the event, public bicycles called 'Ddareungi' in Yeouido, as well as private personal mobility device rentals and returns, will be temporarily suspended.
An advanced traffic control system using closed-circuit television (CCTV) and drones will also be introduced for the first time. The operation of the traffic information center 'TOPIS,' an intelligent transportation system combining advanced information technology (IT) and traffic technology, will be strengthened. Until now, surrounding traffic conditions were monitored visually or by each event organizer using individual means, but from now on, the TOPIS system will provide real-time on-site video from drones and other sources to safety managers, enabling quick responses to unexpected situations.
The newly introduced system composes and provides a multi-view screen with up to 16 screens (freely configurable) on one display, combining traffic CCTV footage and aerial drone video. Seoul City explained that through this, on-site managers can provide information on traffic control, route adjustments, and illegal parking control according to the situation, and take immediate action in case of emergencies.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
