The festival will feature 10 teams from nine countries and territories, including Vietnam, China, Italy, Germany, Portugal, France, Japan, Macau and Australia.
The opening night on May 30 will see host team Danang compete against China at the fireworks stage on Tran Hung Dao Street in Son Tra Ward.
The second competition night on June 6 will feature France and Vietnam’s Z121 Vina Pyrotech team.
Japan and Italy will compete on June 13 followed by Germany and Macau on June 20 with the theme “Innovation”.
Australia and Portugal will face off on June 27 in a performance.
The final night on July 11, themed Danang-connected horizons will feature the two highest-scoring teams competing for the championship title.
Organisers said this year’s themes were designed to tell a unified story about Danang's development and regional integration through nature, heritage, culture, creativity and future vision.
A major highlight of DIFF 2026 will be a mechanical dome stage more than 40 metres wide and over 10 metres high, described by organisers as the largest mechanical stage structure in the festival’s 18-year history.
The winning team will receive a prize worth USD 20,000, while the runner-up will receive USD 10,000. Additional awards for fan favourite, creativity and promising team will each carry prizes of USD 5,000.
DIFF 2026 was also recently named by Travel + Leisure among the world’s nine must-experience festivals for 2026.