City of Events

Thousands of spectators at the 70th anniversary celebration of the Liberation of Hai Phong, combined with the Red Phoenix Flower Festival - Hai Phong 2025. Photo: DO HIEN

A strong impression

In 2025, Hai Phong will not only build bridges across rivers but also construct "cultural bridges" connecting residents, tourists, and international friends.

Looking back over the past 12 months, the city has been vibrant with events every month. While previously tourists only remembered Hai Phong in the summer with Do Son or Cat Ba, by 2025, Hai Phong has proven its ability to attract tourists in all four seasons. The strategy of building a "City of Events" has been concretized through a series of dense, large-scale events with distinctive and stylish characteristics.

Most notably, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Hai Phong is celebrated in conjunction with the Red Phoenix Flower Festival - Hai Phong 2025. This is an annual event, but unlike previous years, this year's festival transcends the boundaries of a local art program, reaching international standards and organized on a large scale.

Regarding the event, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen from Hong Bang ward said: “The festival space is no longer confined to the square in front of the Grand Theater but extends to the new Political -Administrative Center in Thuy Nguyen ward. The image of thousands of drones forming the shape of an anchor and a flamboyant flower in the sky above the Cam River became a widely shared image on social media last May.”

Many visitors were also impressed by this year's highlight: the skillful integration of the heroic historical story of "The Brave and Victorious City" with contemporary 3D mapping and virtual reality art, making history more vivid and relatable, especially for young people.

Subsequently, the city continued to demonstrate its capacity to organize international events through the coordinated implementation of cultural, artistic, sightseeing, and experiential activities within the framework of the ABAC 3 Conference, attracting hundreds of delegates, experts, and businesspeople from APEC member economies . During the program, the delegation visited Chu Dau pottery village and the Lan Ha Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago World Natural Heritage site, and received presentations on the city's rich cultural and natural heritage and unique attractions...

Speaking of the highlights of the past year, one cannot fail to mention the Con Son - Kiet Bac Autumn Festival 2025, held shortly after Hai Phong's historical sites were recognized by UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage sites. This year's festival lasted 8 days longer than previous festivals. The festival featured many new, attractive, and large-scale activities, attracting a record number of visitors.

In addition, there are many other events such as the "specialty" Food Tour, which has been upgraded to the 2025 Port Culinary Culture Week; contemporary art exhibitions; the Cat Ba International Marathon attracting thousands of athletes, combining sports with the promotion of natural heritage…

Opening up new opportunities

cat-ba (1) — The spouses of ABAC 3 delegates visited the Lan Ha Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago World Natural Heritage Site.

The successful hosting of numerous national and international cultural events in Hai Phong in 2025 opens up significant development opportunities for the city's tourism and economy.

Hosting major events is a powerful leverage that helps Hai Phong implement its strategy of becoming an "Event City" and a "Four-Season Tourist Destination," aiming to become a regional and international center for beach, cultural, and heritage tourism.

National and international events attract the attention of domestic and foreign media, helping to promote the image of Hai Phong - a dynamic, civilized, friendly port city with a rich cultural identity (associated with heritage sites such as Cat Ba Archipelago, Con Son - Kiet Bac, and a system of historical and cultural relics). This, in turn, enhances the city's tourism brand position on the tourism map of Vietnam and the world.

Events are a direct reason for attracting large numbers of tourists, especially international visitors and major travel agencies. They stimulate tourist spending not only on accommodation and food but also on cultural tourism products, traditional crafts, and unique local cuisine.

Cultural events contribute to connecting different types of tourism, helping Hai Phong to maximize its advantages: heritage, cultural, and festival tourism; MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions); and regional tourism.

Furthermore, these events also attract investment and infrastructure development. This is an opportunity for Hai Phong to call for and sign strategic cooperation agreements with major economic corporations, attracting investment in smart tourism infrastructure, high-end services, and green tourism products with strong competitiveness. This creates momentum for the city to continue investing in the comprehensive modernization of strategic infrastructure systems (seaports, transportation, aviation), meeting international standards for events and tourists.

These events also provide an opportunity for Hai Phong to accelerate digital transformation in tourism management and service provision, aiming towards a smart, environmentally friendly, and sustainable tourism industry in line with international trends. This will create jobs and improve the quality of human resources for the tourism and service sector.

At the 2nd City Party Committee Conference, City Party Secretary Le Tien Chau acknowledged: "The city has successfully organized many large-scale cultural and artistic activities, contributing to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the Eastern region - the port city." This is an important foundation for Hai Phong to continue developing culture as a driving force of the creative economy, boosting the cultural industry and improving the quality of spiritual life for the people.

THU HUONG

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/dau-an-thanh-pho-su-kien-532324.html