Fireworks light up sky over Tokyo during Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival

Fireworks lit up the night sky over Tokyo on Saturday evening during the Sumidagawa Firework Festival, one of Japan's biggest annual fireworks shows.

Approximately 20,000 gorgeous fireworks were launched from both sides of the Sumida River during this edition of the annual summer event.

Many people came to the area quite early to get a perfect spot to enjoy the show. More than 600 lucky spectators were offered a unique opportunity to watch the fireworks from a special location - on top of the iconic Tokyo Skytree tower.

The 350-meter high observation deck gave them an unparalleled experience of the centuries-old event.

"I came to watch the fireworks last year too. It's a lot more upgraded than last year. It looks beautiful," said a visitor.

"Usually we look up from the ground to enjoy the fireworks in China. This time we are watching the fireworks from high above. It is quite a unique and impressive experience," said a Chinese tourist.

"As a special business for the Sumidagawa Firework Festival, we had 634 customers come up to the Skytree [to enjoy the fireworks] this year. It is great that the event went smoothly this year. And we are so happy to see visitors so pleased," said Kato Hitomi with the Secretariat of Public Relations of Tobu Tower Skytree.

This year's Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival attracted around 930,000 spectators, according to organizers.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.34 percent to 98.982 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1606 dollars from 1.1583 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.34 dollars from 1.3328 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 157.74 Japanese yen, lower than 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.777 Swiss francs from 0.7827 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3596 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar dropped to 9.1855 Swedish Kronor from 9.2657 Swedish Kronor.