Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025: Affirming the attractiveness of a Creative City

More than 30 activities, spanning 16 days

On the afternoon of October 21, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports informed about the organization of the "Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025" with the theme "Heritage - Connection - Era". This is a large-scale cultural and artistic event, identified as an annual activity of the Capital. The program will take place over 16 days (from November 1 to November 16), with the Opening Ceremony held on the evening of November 7 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel and the Closing Ceremony on the evening of November 16 at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square. The event is directed by the Hanoi People's Committee, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports coordinates with many units to implement.

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports Le Thi Anh Mai shared at the press conference. Photo: Organizing Committee

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports Le Thi Anh Mai said the Festival will be held in many spaces symbolizing the heritage and creativity of the capital such as: Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Ngoc Son Temple, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi Museum, Hoan Kiem Lake... with more than 30 unique cultural, artistic and tourism activities and 5,000 performers.

At the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam space, visitors will experience a series of activities "Heritage Convergence", displaying traditional craft products of the three capitals (Thang Long – Hue – Hoa Lu) and the Central Highlands provinces (from November 1 to November 9). At the Ho Van space, the Organizing Committee introduces the culinary culture "Flavor of Hanoi", along with creative handicraft and design activities. In addition, there are: fashion show "Ao Dai on the Heritage Road" (November 2); exhibition "Thanh Tan Hanoi" (November 2 to 16); art program "Oh Hanoi" (November 3); exhibition "Heritage and the Future"; international scientific seminar on East-West Educational and Cultural Heritage (November 3); art program "Red River calls the great forest" (November 8)...

At the Hanoi Museum, the public can visit the thematic exhibition “Archaeological discoveries from the Vuon Chuoi relic” (November 2) and the “Puppetry Solo” space – where the art of folk puppetry is renewed through performances and interactive experiences. The highlight is the international art program “Eternal Moments” (November 8), with the participation of Swiss composer Dominique Barthassat and creative groups from Hanoi.

General director Pham Hoang Nam informs about festival activities. Photo: Organizing Committee

This year, the 4th Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2025 takes place from November 7 to 9 at the Hanoi Museum and Hoan Kiem Lake area, with many activities honoring the beauty of Ao Dai associated with the cultural and tourism values of the Capital.

In addition, there is the Hanoi Puppetry Festival (November 15); the play “Thang Long Capital” (November 10 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel) and the program “Ngoc Son – Mysterious Night” at Ngoc Son Temple.

ao dai-festival.jpg — Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2024. Photo: HNM

The Festival also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Tug of War rituals and games being recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with an international workshop “A decade of protecting and promoting Tug of War rituals and games” (November 15) and a tug of war exchange and performance program with the participation of international delegations and the domestic heritage community (November 16, at Tran Vu temple - Long Bien district).

Shaping the Hanoi festival brand

The Thang Long - Hanoi Festival is being held for the first time to honor the value of the thousand-year-old cultural heritage of Thang Long - Hanoi, spread the spirit of "Heritage - Connection - Time", and affirm Hanoi's position in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports Le Thi Anh Mai said that the Organizing Committee plans to organize it periodically and will choose the autumn of Hanoi to organize it, from October to November, with the aim of shaping a festival with the Hanoi brand, thereby contributing to promoting the development of Hanoi's cultural industry.

Autumn cuisine in Hanoi. Photo: Organizing Committee

Explaining the organization of a 16-day festival with many overlapping activities in many different creative cultural spaces in Hanoi, General Director of the festival Pham Hoang Giang said that the extension of the cultural festival is aimed at attracting tourism, creating opportunities for domestic and foreign tourists to plan long-term visits and tours to Hanoi. The organizing committee will allocate large and small activities interwoven and will focus on major events on weekends.

Regarding the Opening Ceremony, director Pham Hoang Giang said that it will combine traditional and modern elements with an elaborate stage set, using a modern 3D mapping lighting system. “Our goal is to create an attractive program not only for young people but also to promote Hanoi’s culture and heritage to foreign visitors. Therefore, the performances will have the participation of many famous artists and there will be unexpected combinations of traditional and modern music,” director Pham Hoang Giang said.

Regarding the communication and promotion work to attract tourists during the festival, Deputy Director of the Tourism Promotion Center (Hanoi Department of Tourism) Nguyen Huu Viet shared that the Department of Tourism will send a document to inform travel agencies and accommodation units in Hanoi so that they can include the festival's experiences in their tour schedules to introduce tourists and have a promotion plan to help tourists stay longer in Hanoi. In addition, the Department of Tourism will step up propaganda and promotion on international travel sites such as Agoda and Traveloka. According to Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai, Hanoi has signed a cooperation agreement with Vietnam Airlines, so the units will coordinate to communicate and provide information about the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival on flights to attract domestic and foreign tourists to Hanoi this time.

“The Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 is an opportunity for Hanoi to demonstrate its spirit of integration, creativity and responsibility for preserving heritage. Through a series of events, the capital city of Hanoi affirms its image as a “Creative City - where heritage lives with the times”, while strongly promoting the Vietnamese cultural brand to the world,” said Ms. Le Thi Anh Mai.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/festival-thang-long-ha-noi-2025-khang-dinh-suc-hap-dan-cua-thanh-pho-sang-tao-720450.html