Road to Olympia, VTV's oldest game show, is still 'hot' after 25 years

The 25th Road to Olympia finals will be broadcast live at 8:30 am on Sunday, October 26 on VTV3. With a 25-year journey, Road to Olympia is the longest-running game show on Vietnam Television to date.

25 years, more than 1,300 Road to Olympia competitions in all rounds

At 11:05 a.m. on March 28, 1999, the first episode of Road to Olympia was officially released to the audience. This is a game show (television game) completely "made in Vietnam", the format was conceived and produced by VTV .

Every year, The Road to Olympia will have 144 contestants - climbers competing to find the best ones. After 25 years with more than 1,300 competitions, more than 3,500 contestants participating, The Road to Olympia is the oldest game show of Vietnam Television up to now.

Starting positions of the 4 finalists of the Road to Olympia on Sunday morning, October 26

PHOTO: VTV

Sharing at the Gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of Road to Olympia - The Stars of Hope on the evening of October 21, MC Ngoc Huy made a few associations, enough for the audience to imagine the journey of 25 years - a quarter of a century that has passed. 25 years, enough for a newborn baby to become a bride and groom. 25 years, the age of the program is older than the age of many young people today who still watch the game show every Sunday. And even MC Khanh Vy - the favorite female MC of Road to Olympia also shared that on the day Road to Olympia first aired, she was not yet born, now being the MC of Olympia, that is her impossible dream.

The 25-year journey has had many changes, with generations of contestants from Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, and now Gen Alpha... but one thing that has not changed is the enthusiasm, determination, and hope of the climbers.

Generations of MCs associated with Road to Olympia

Those who have loved the game show Road to Olympia from the beginning until now must still remember the names of the MCs - presenters who have been associated with the name of this game show: journalist Ta Bich Loan, journalist Luu Minh Vu, journalist Tung Chi, MC Kieu Anh, MC Khanh Chi, MC Viet Khue, MC Khac Cuong, MC Diep Chi, MC Ngoc Huy (who has hosted Road to Olympia since its 13th year), MC Khanh Vy...

10 years ago, in the 15th year of the Road to Olympia Gala, journalist Ta Bich Loan, the first host of the Road to Olympia, said that after the successful completion of the 7-color rainbow program, everyone always wanted to have a special game show for high school students. As the program's format writer, journalist Ta Bich Loan thought of a mountain climbing route, so the structure of the competition consisted of 4 parts: warm-up, overcoming obstacles, acceleration, and finishing.

Ms. Loan has not forgotten the first days of the program Road to Olympia, a room on the 4th floor was always closed, she and journalist Tung Chi scratched their heads, thinking of questions to make it difficult for the contestants.

24 champions of Road to Olympia over the years, this Sunday morning will find the champion of the 25th year

PHOTO: VTV

And 10 years later, in the Gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of Road to Olympia - Stars of Hope , broadcast on VTV3 on the evening of October 21, journalist Ta Bich Loan shared that she is a person who believes in the studious spirit of the Vietnamese people, this is an ancient tradition of the nation, but she herself is surprised by the program's persistence when after a quarter of a century it is still loved by many generations. Especially when a contestant shines, it will become a joy for the people of an entire province, a hometown, all cheering and encouraging for that contestant. This further fuels her belief in the spirit, the desire to learn, the desire to contribute of young Vietnamese people.

Light up the stars of hope

Over the past 25 years, the winner of the Road to Olympia, from the weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly competitions, has received the most glorious reward, the laurel wreath. The laurel wreath has become the symbol of the program and the dream of many students across the country.

Not only stopping at 45 minutes of broadcasting each week, each contestant coming out of Road to Olympia as well as millions of viewers who are students of this program are empowered and inspired to rise up in life, conquer goals, and learn how to grow up after failure.

According to the Vietnam Television Electronic Information Portal, many generations of former contestants of the Road to Olympia have left the program carrying with them knowledge and aspirations to make their mark in many fields. Many Olympia champions and contestants continue their journey to success, affirming Vietnamese intellectual capacity on the global knowledge map. Many names are champions that the audience who love the program often mention such as Phan Manh Tan, Le Vu Hoang, Le Viet Ha, Phan Minh Duc, Ho Dac Thanh Chuong, Phan Dang Nhat Minh...

In 2023, students of Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted ( Hue ) also entered the final round of the Road to Olympia, the cheering atmosphere for this contestant was always burning.

PHOTO: LE HOAI NHAN

Present at the Gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of Road to Olympia - The Stars of Hope were other talented young faces. Although they were not the champions of the year of Road to Olympia, this playground has given the boys and girls the strength to become better versions of themselves yesterday.

That is Master, Doctor Ho Ngoc Minh (former contestant of Road to Olympia year 10), surgeon, Director of Operations of the Movement Analysis Department, Orthopedic Trauma and Sports Medicine Center.

That is Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy (former contestant of Road to Olympia year 2), currently working at the Knight Cancer Research Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, USA.

That is Le Cam Hoang Tuan, Olympia contestant of the 14th year, currently a product management engineer, working at Ca Mau Gas Company. In 2024, he and his colleagues had a project recognized as a national creative project, he was honored as one of the best young workers in the country in 2025, received a certificate of merit for creative labor from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and many other outstanding young people...

The four climbers participating in the final round of the Road to Olympia on the morning of October 26 are: Tran Bui Bao Khanh (student of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted); Doan Thanh Tung (Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Nam Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa); Nguyen Nhat Lam (Cai Be High School, Dong Thap) and Le Quang Duy Khoa (Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted - Hue). After 25 years, the program is still "hot" thanks to the attention of many generations and the enthusiastic cheering of each locality with contestants participating in the final round.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/duong-len-dinh-olympia-gameshow-lau-doi-nhat-cua-vtv-van-nong-sau-25-nam-185251023091643894.htm