Highlights of the 2024 Peace Festival

NDO – The opening ceremony of the 2024 Peace Festival in Quang Tri will offer audiences a spectacular live art performance, combining multiple spaces on land and on the river, connecting the north-south axis of Hien Luong Bridge, with the highlight being a large-scale drone display and artistic fireworks.

The organizing committee is checking on the preparations for the Festival for Peace.

At 8 PM on July 6th, the 2024 Peace Festival will be inaugurated on the southern bank of the Hien Luong-Ben Hai National Special Historical Site in Quang Tri province.

The first Peace Festival was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Accords ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina and Vietnam (July 21, 1954 - July 21, 2024), the 77th anniversary of the Day of War Invalids and Martyrs (July 27, 1947 - July 27, 2024), and looking forward to the 50th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

The festival's theme is "Joining Hands to Build a Peaceful World ." Throughout the festival, there are rich, diverse, and attractive programs reflecting traditional and contemporary cultural aspects with national and international significance.

This is also a national and international-scale cultural, sports , and tourism event and activity in the 2024-2025 period, according to Decision No. 3032/QD-BVHTTDL dated October 16, 2023, of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The 2024 Festival for Peace will be a vivid testament to that aspiration, as Quang Tri welcomes international friends to build a future of peace, unity, and development together, transforming a painful past into a powerful driving force for new progress.

Along with activities of gratitude and remembrance, the festival program is designed with many cultural and artistic activities, music, entertainment, sports, and cuisine organized in various spaces, with different levels of intensity, targeting different audiences, especially young people.

According to Nguyen Hoan, Deputy Director of the Quang Tri Department of Information and Communications and Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Peace Festival, the festival will be inaugurated on the evening of July 6, 2024, at the Hien Luong-Ben Hai National Special Monument. The event will feature a series of meaningful activities and unique artistic programs, aiming to create emotional highlights that "bring the world of peace to Quang Tri"—a land that has become a symbol of the aspiration for peace, healing, and rebirth. The artistic concept of the program is to create emotional connections between the past and the future, conveying Quang Tri's spirit of proactive integration.

General rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the Festival for Peace.

The special art program, themed "Connecting the Rhythms of Time," is structured as a complex art form, "theatrically" dramatizing the story of peace through layers of scenes and storytelling via music, with the participation of many famous singers and artists in the Vietnamese entertainment industry today.

The opening night will feature a multi-dimensional music stage, creating a multi-touch artistic program within a single performance space, with the highlight being a large-scale drone display. The opening ceremony will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display.

Through these synchronized theatrical performances, viewers gain a deeper understanding of the enduring aspiration for peace, which is the absolute value and solid foundation upon which miracles can be created.

Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, Hoang Nam, Head of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Peace Festival, emphasized that preparations for the festival have been completed in the most detailed and comprehensive manner. The most important highlight is the opening ceremony program, which aims to convey a message of a new perspective: that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but extends to love between individuals and communities; peace is a joyful song, happiness, and the simple things in life… A peaceful world requires everyone to work together, ready to overcome geographical, cultural, and religious boundaries to build a world full of love and justice.

In conjunction with the Peace Festival, the public will also have the opportunity to participate in many special musical exchange programs throughout the festival…

Notably, the organizing committee has already invited many countries to send art troupes to participate in the festival, including a number of world-renowned artists from South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

The Festival for Peace will be organized in an "open" manner, with only a start date and no closing date. This is also how Quang Tri province sends the message: At any time, the public can come and enjoy the festive atmosphere and the atmosphere of peace in Quang Tri. The biggest goal of the Festival for Peace is to promote the image of Quang Tri on the world tourism map, creating a strong attraction for Quang Tri tourism to develop with diverse tourist groups and different interests.

The main activities taking place at the Festival for Peace include:

8 PM on July 6th: The opening night of the festival will feature a special artistic program at the Hien Luong-Ben Hai National Special Historical Site, with the theme "Connecting the Bridges".

The program features many renowned domestic and international artists; with a musical stage and a multi-space setting combining on the riverbank and underwater, connecting the north-south axis of the historic Hien Luong Bridge spanning the Ben Hai River. The artistic concept of the program is about emotional touchpoints connecting the past and the future, conveying the proactive spirit of integration of Quang Tri.

The opening ceremony of the Festival for Peace will feature a fireworks display at the end of the program.

July 12-14: The "Flavors of the Sunny Land" Cultural and Culinary Festival will be held at the Cua Viet Service and Tourism Area, Gio Linh District, featuring 100 stalls showcasing typical dishes representing the culinary culture of Vietnam's three regions and international cuisine.

8 PM on July 13th: The "Melodies of Peace" music exchange program – a Trinh Cong Son tribute concert – will take place at Fidel Park in Dong Ha city, featuring many famous singers and artists such as Cam Van, Hong Nhung, Duc Tuan, Quang Dung, Tan Son, Tran Manh Tuan, An Tran, Kyo York, Jmi ko…

8 PM on July 19th: A political and artistic program organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper in collaboration with Quang Tri province, themed "The 17th Parallel – Aspiration for Peace".

July 20th: The international music exchange program "Melodies of Peace" at the Quang Tri Provincial Cultural and Film Center will feature artists from the following countries: South Korea, Japan, the United States, China, France, Australia, Cuba, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

This unique concert program offers audiences a musical experience that conveys the power of love and connects people, serving as a highlight of the festival and also the first large-scale international music exchange program in Quang Tri.

The program will conclude with a collective dance performance, "Dance of Peace," featuring artists from all participating countries, delegates, and tourists, creating a sense of unity and harmony in a shared aspiration for lasting peace.

At 8 PM on July 26th: The "Peace Wish" program took place at the flower-laying dock on the north bank of the Thach Han River, within the Quang Tri Ancient Citadel National Special Monument, with activities such as: flower and incense offerings, floating lanterns, and prayers. Notably, the sound of bells for peace was heard simultaneously with acts of gratitude at all cemeteries, memorials, and churches dedicated to fallen heroes.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/diem-nhan-dac-sac-cua-le-hoi-vi-hoa-binh-2024-post817662.html