Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 attracts more than 200,000 visitors: Affirming the stature of the Creative Capital

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh and Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha presented flowers and certificates to units participating in the festival.

Attending the closing ceremony were: Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh; Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Council Tran The Cuong; Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha and representatives of city departments and branches.

Diverse cultural and creative activities

With a series of diverse artistic and cultural activities, Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 is considered an important bridge between heritage and contemporary creativity, strongly promoting the image of the thousand-year-old capital in the new era.

Performance at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam. Photo: HL

The event was attended by leaders of the Central Government, Hanoi City, representatives of several provinces and cities, along with ambassadors of many countries and representatives of international organizations. During the 16 days of the festival, more than 30 artistic activities, performances, creations, exhibitions, and seminars took place at many destinations such as: Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hanoi Museum, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, Ngoc Son Temple, Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square...

After the flag-waving signal, the tug-of-war teams competed, creating an exciting atmosphere that attracted many locals and tourists. Photo: Hoang Lan — Performance of rituals and tug of war games took place on the morning of November 16. Photo: Hoang Lan

Among them, many outstanding international exchange programs were organized such as: International Workshop and Performance Exchange of Tug of War Rituals and Games, celebrating the 10th anniversary of UNESCO's recognition of heritage; the art program "Eternal Moment" at Hanoi Museum with the participation of Swiss composer Dominique Barthassat; the program "Heritage Convergence" at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, connecting the cultural values of the three capitals of Thang Long - Hue - Hoa Lu and representatives of the Central Highlands provinces.

What is special is that the festival not only honors traditional values but also opens up new creative spaces, bringing heritage closer to the public, especially the youth. Many programs combining traditional and modern elements have created great attraction such as: Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival, the highlight of which is the parade program "Hundred Flowers Walking on the Heritage Road"; Workshop "Application of Heritage in Creativity"; Traditional Craft Workshops. Creative products at the event are expected to become typical products of the cultural industry in the future.

The numbers speak for themselves.

One of the highlights of the Festival is putting the community at the center. People not only participate but also directly create, recreate and spread heritage values.

Wards and communes of Hanoi brought 15 unique performances such as Bai Bong dance, Bong dance, Thuy Linh wrestling, and many other traditional puppetry forms. The festival became a large “creative playground”, where heritage lives in a modern atmosphere.

Ao Dai parade takes place on Hoan Kiem Lake walking street. Photo: Phan Anh.

According to the Organizing Committee, the success of the Festival is reflected in the "telling numbers". During the 16 days of the Festival, it attracted nearly 200,000 direct visitors; nearly 1 million views on social networks; 40,000 channel followers; 8 domestic tug-of-war communities and Gijisi Tug-of-war Association (Dangjin, Korea) participated in the performance; 19 puppet troupes, nearly 800 artists, creating the largest puppetry festival ever; 25,000 visitors participated in the Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2025 at the Hanoi Museum; 75,000 visitors experienced activities at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam. In addition, for the first time, the 360-degree stage appeared at Thang Long Imperial Citadel on the opening night of November 7 with a capacity of 1,000 performers.

According to Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Le Thi Anh Mai, Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 has opened a new chapter for the creative journey of the Capital. In the spirit of strong innovation, Hanoi aims to build the Festival into an annual cultural event of international stature.

The organizers revealed that in 2026, the Festival will return with the theme “Quintessence of Hanoi”, expressing the aspiration to make Hanoi a convergence point and spread the value of Vietnamese heritage to the world. The city wishes that heritage is not only displayed but also dialogued, exchanged, and enriched the common identity of humanity.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/festival-thang-long-ha-noi-2025-thu-hut-hon-200-000-luot-nguoi-khang-dinh-tam-voc-thu-do-sang-tao-723514.html