Hanoi is ready for the first World Cultural Festival.

Photo caption

View inside Thang Long Imperial Citadel. Illustration photo: Thanh Tung/VNA

This is a global cultural diplomacy event, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hanoi People's Committee with the aim of honoring the value of cultural diversity and enhancing people-to-people exchange.

According to the Organizing Committee, the first World Cultural Festival in Hanoi is a key foreign cultural activity of Vietnam in 2025, gathering 48 participating countries with 45 national cultural spaces; 34 international culinary booths; 23 domestic and foreign art troupes; 12 units introducing books and publications; 22 countries participating in the international film screening program...

According to the Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Nguyen Phuong Hoa, this is the largest cultural festival ever in Vietnam, gathering the participation of all cultures of the five continents. From the national cultural space to art performances, costume shows and culinary experiences... all aim at one goal: to honor diversity in unity and affirm the role of culture as a sustainable bridge between nations.

The festival is designed with many experiential activities, performances, and public interactions throughout three days. Here, the public will be able to admire unique cultural colors, from performing arts, music, folk dance, traditional costumes, to cinema, fine arts and world cuisine... all blending together in the heritage space of Thang Long Imperial Citadel - the thousand-year-old cultural convergence center of the Capital.

The festival includes many highlight activities, of which the Opening Ceremony is scheduled to take place from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. on October 10, at the central stage of Thang Long Imperial Citadel, bringing together many famous Vietnamese artists such as Tung Duong, Hoa Minzy... and international artists with emotional art performances, harmoniously combining tradition and modernity.

The closing ceremony is scheduled to take place from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. on October 12 at the central stage of Thang Long Imperial Citadel with the participation of artists Truc Nhan, Hoang Thuy Linh... and many international artists, promising to bring energetic and emotional performances.

The ceremonies all combine cross-cultural performances and 3D Mapping projections, which are the convergence of five continents in creative light and solidarity. All are moved in three-dimensional space with the message: Culture is the bridge of humanity, creativity is the common language of the world.

One of the unique highlights of the festival is the Fashion Show - “Footsteps of Heritage”, taking place on the evening of October 11 at the central stage, gathering nearly 100 traditional costumes from participating countries, promising to be the most diverse and spectacular international national costume performance ever in Vietnam. According to the Organizing Committee, the program “Footsteps of Heritage” is not only an artistic fashion show, but also a journey to honor heritage, honor identity, where each costume tells the story of culture, history and spirit of its people. Here, the audience will admire the brilliant diversity of the world through the language of colors, materials and traditional patterns...

Within the framework of the festival, from October 11 to 12, many unique cultural and artistic exchange activities will take place at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, which will be an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

These are exhibition activities and multi-national cultural spaces. Accordingly, on the “Cultural Road”, visitors can visit booths from nearly 50 countries such as China, Korea, Japan, the United States, Russia, France, Iran, Angola, Laos, the Philippines... This is a place to introduce the characteristics of history, art, language, costumes and customs of the countries. Visitors also have the opportunity to experience wearing traditional costumes of Vietnam and other countries, immersing themselves in the atmosphere of international exchange.

International film screening program, introducing outstanding Vietnamese and international cinema works at Thang Long Imperial Citadel Hall, serving cinema lovers in a historical and cultural space.

On the round stage, traditional art performances and international performances take place at different times, with the participation of Vietnamese and international artists. In particular, Vietnamese art performances are performed such as Central Highlands Gong, Bac Ninh Quan Ho singing, Cheo singing, Chau Van singing, folk dancing... In addition, there are also performances by international artists from Japan, Russia, Cambodia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran, Cuba, Romania, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Palestine, Venezuela, UAE, Philippines...

During the festival days, at the Food Quarter, visitors to Thang Long Imperial Citadel also have the opportunity to experience and explore multinational cuisine and participate in culinary workshops to learn about typical dishes of many different cultures...

According to the Organizing Committee, during the three days of the festival, Thang Long Imperial Citadel will become the "common home" of the world, where music, colors, flavors and emotions blend in an atmosphere of friendship and solidarity. With the motto "Culture is the foundation - Art is the means", the First World Cultural Festival in Hanoi is not only a large-scale cultural event, but also a typical cultural diplomacy activity of Vietnam in 2025, aiming to become an annual event of international stature.

The festival is open to the public on October 11-12. For the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, audiences who wish to attend can register for free tickets at the event's official website: https://worldculturefestival.vn.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/van-hoa/ha-noi-san-sang-cho-le-hoi-van-hoa-the-gioi-lan-thu-nhat-20251008123551116.htm