Preserving and promoting the unique cultural values of the Khmer people

On the morning of November 4, the opening ceremony of the 2025 Can Tho City Ngo Boat Racing Tournament officially took place.

The race is one of the most anticipated highlights of the Ok Om Bok Festival - City Ngo Boat Race 2025.

In his opening speech, Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Nguyen Van Khoi said that Ok Om Bok Festival - Ngo Boat Racing is a unique and long-standing traditional cultural feature of the Khmer ethnic group in the South.

The festival has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage and won the Vietnam Guinness Record in 2022 for "Festival with the largest number of Ngo boats and athletes."

To build a civilized, modern, and unique urban area, Can Tho city pays special attention to preserving and promoting the unique cultural values of the Khmer people.

Recently, many synchronous solutions have been implemented such as maintaining Khmer language and script classes at pagodas and restoring traditional art forms (Du Ke and Ro Bam stages, Ngu Am music and Rom Vong dance).

The leaders of the City People's Committee expect that the Ngo boat teams will compete with a spirit of solidarity, honesty, and nobility, and will do their best to serve the audience; contributing to creating a joyful atmosphere and solidarity among the ethnic groups of the localities in the region.

Ngo boat racing is not only a traditional sport demonstrating solidarity and strong will, but also a unique cultural activity.

The Ngo boat race is held this time to honor the identity of the Khmer ethnic group; at the same time, promote the cultural image of Can Tho city.

The 2025 Can Tho City Ngo Boat Race will take place from November 4-5 on the Maspéro Canal track; bringing together 61 competing teams, including 53 men's teams and 8 women's teams. Of which, 48 teams are from Can Tho City and 13 teams are from Ca Mau Province.

The teams compete in two distances, including 1,200m for men and 1,000m for women. The total prize value of the tournament is nearly 1.4 billion VND.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, the Ngo boat teams entered the qualifying round, starting the exciting competition./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/bao-ton-va-phat-huy-gia-tri-van-hoa-doc-dao-cua-dong-bao-khmer-post1074866.vnp