10 cultural, sports and tourism events in 2023

Performance in the special art program "Outline of Vietnamese Culture - Historical Marks".
(Photo by TRAN HUAN)

The achievements that Vietnamese culture has today are all inherited from the viewpoints of this Outline. The Central Council of Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art organized a Scientific Seminar: "Outline on Vietnamese Culture and the development of the Party's theoretical thinking on literature and art over the past 80 years". Besides, there were many exciting activities: Commemorative film week organized nationwide; photo exhibition; celebration ceremony and art program with the theme Outline on Vietnamese Culture - Historical Imprints...

2. The first conference of Vietnamese veteran writers was held. This is an activity of great humanitarian significance, paying tribute to and honoring generations of Vietnamese writers who have accompanied the country and people; the writer-soldiers who have made many contributions to the struggle for independence, freedom, and national unification; and building an advanced Vietnamese literature and culture imbued with national identity.

The conference continued to affirm the Party's cultural and artistic guidelines in each historical period, thereby establishing the path to the future of writers and the young generation in the new era. President Vo Van Thuong attended the conference and affirmed that the Party and State will continue to create the best conditions for writers to create as well as publish and honor valuable literary works, making positive contributions to the cause of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland, striving for the goal of "rich people, strong country, democracy, equality, civilization".

3. Vietnam was elected as a member of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term. The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage has 194 member states. Having joined the Convention since 1987, this is the second time Vietnam has assumed the position of a member of the World Heritage Committee, since the 2013-2017 term.

With experience and knowledge in protecting Vietnam's existing 9 world cultural and natural heritages and many intangible cultural heritages and documentary heritages recognized by UNESCO, Vietnam will contribute to the completion and implementation of the goals and priorities of the Convention, while sharing and exchanging activities in managing, preserving and promoting the values of world heritages in Vietnam to contribute to protecting and preserving cultural and natural heritages for humanity.

4. Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago was recognized as a World Natural Heritage at the 45th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on September 16, 2003, held in Riyadh, the capital of the Republic of Saudi Arabia. With 1,133 limestone islands (775 islands in Ha Long Bay, 358 islands in Cat Ba Archipelago), this is considered a geological museum containing outstanding global values, a place to witness the characteristic changes in the history of the Earth's development.

Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago is also a typical area with a high level of diversity in Asia, possessing 7 adjacent, successively developing marine-island, tropical and subtropical ecosystems, representing ecological and biological processes that are still evolving, creating habitats for thousands of rare species of animals and plants. This is the first inter-provincial and municipal world heritage site (Quang Ninh - Hai Phong) in Vietnam.

5. Vietnam tourism continues to reap many awards from the World Travel Awards (WTA). For the fourth time, Vietnam was honored as the “World’s Leading Heritage Destination”, for the fifth time it was voted “Asia’s Leading Tourist Destination”, and for the second time it was recognized as “Asia’s Leading Natural Destination”.

Along with national tourism awards, many local destinations in Vietnam were also named in prestigious award categories, such as: “World’s Leading City Destination” (Hanoi); “World’s Leading Natural Island Destination” (Phu Quoc); “World’s Leading Local Natural Destination” (Moc Chau); “World’s Leading Local Cultural Destination” (Ha Nam). Famous international travel magazines and websites have also repeatedly listed Vietnam among the world’s attractive destinations.

6. The Vietnamese women's football team won the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) for the 8th time after defeating the Myanmar women's team 2-0 in the final match of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in May 2023. With this achievement, our women's team became the most successful women's team in the region, with four consecutive SEA Games gold medals, having previously won three consecutive championships in the games in 2001, 2003, and 2005.

In his eight Southeast Asian Games championships, veteran coach Mai Duc Chung also set a record of six times leading the team to the championship. In addition to regional sporting achievements, in 2023, the Vietnamese women's football team will also mark a milestone in the country's football history when competing for the first time at the 2023 World Cup.

7. For the first time, Vietnam won the Asian Games (ASIAD) gold medal in shooting in its history of participating in the Games. At the ASIAD 19 last October, shooter Pham Quang Huy, although competing for the first time in the continent's top arena, performed excellently, successively surpassing very strong shooters from China, Korea, Malaysia, India, North Korea, and Uzbekistan. This is not only the first gold medal for Vietnamese shooting at the ASIAD but also the first gold medal to "quench the thirst for gold" of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation at this Games.

8. Vietnamese table tennis won the 32nd SEA Games gold medal in mixed doubles after 26 years of waiting. The two athletes Dinh Anh Hoang (21 years old) and Tran Mai Ngoc (19 years old) played excellently and defeated the Singaporean pair Zhe Yu Chew and Jian Zeng, who were highly rated, with a final score of 3-1 in the mixed doubles final, thereby bringing the two Vietnamese athletes to the championship.

This achievement repeats the achievement of the two athletes Vu Manh Cuong-Ngo Thu Thuy at the 1997 SEA Games, who also won against the Singaporean pair. Notably, both young players Dinh Anh Hoang and Tran Mai Ngoc are students of coach Vu Manh Cuong and all three are currently playing for the Hanoi T&T club.

9. Vietnamese cinema wins prestigious international awards. In May 2023, “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” by filmmaker Pham Thien An won the Camera d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in France. The Camera d'Or was established in 1978 by Gilles Jacob and is a long-standing, prestigious award for the best first feature film screened in one of the Cannes selections. “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” was developed from the short film “Stay Awake, Be Ready” also directed by Pham Thien An.

The film tells the story of a man's journey to resolve family tragedies and the journey to find and reunite him, which makes him think a lot about life. Without many entertaining elements, the film requires viewers to think more about the interwoven details and stories, in order to fully enjoy the work.

10. Vietnam welcomes the most international artists touring ever. In 2023, many world-class singers and bands chose Vietnam as their destination, not only enriching the musical life but also opening up opportunities for learning and integration, actively contributing to promoting Vietnamese culture and tourism internationally. In March, Super Junior - the "legendary K-Pop" band organized World Tour Super Show 9 in Ho Chi Minh City. In June, SEEN Festival in Hoi An (Quang Nam) exploded with a series of Korean entertainment artists such as Taeyang (BIGBANG), BoA, Aespa, Hyoyeon (SNSD), KARD...

In July, the world's most successful Korean girl group BlackPink held two shows at My Dinh National Stadium (Hanoi). In November, saxophonist Kenny G with many immortal songs loved worldwide performed in the program "Kenny G Live In Vietnam" (part of the international music project "Good Morning Vietnam" initiated and organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper). Next, the band Westlife - the idol of many US-UK music lovers, toured Ho Chi Minh City. In December, the famous American band Maroon 5 performed in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang)...

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/van-hoa/giai-tri!/10-su-kien-van-hoa-the-thao-va-du-lich-nam-2023!-185752.html