Spectacular musical night 'Legendary Train' opens Ho Chi Minh City River Festival

Following the success of the 2023 edition, the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City River Festival this year opened with a special art program "Storytelling River" season 2 with the theme "Legendary Train". The musical has a scale of more than 1,000 actors and 9,000 live attendees.

Attending the program were Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Vice President; Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, and former leaders of the Party, State, ministries, branches and diplomatic agencies.

Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee delivered the opening speech of the program.

In his opening speech, Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said that the second Ho Chi Minh City River Festival will take place from May 31 to June 9 at many locations in the city to honor the beauty and value of heritage rivers, spreading pride and love for the city.

The musical "The Legendary Train" combines history, cinema, and entertainment to convey meaningful messages from the heroic historical story of the nation.

According to Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai, the history of the formation of Saigon - Cho Lon - Gia Dinh - Ho Chi Minh City over the past 300 years has a strong imprint of rivers. Generations of fathers and brothers followed the rivers to build villages, build ramparts, establish citadels, establish palaces, create Gia Dinh, open Nha Be, Thu Duc, Thanh Da... Villages, markets, bustling ports are constantly forming along the river banks and canals to create a vibrant, prosperous, bustling Southern city.

"Not only creating the shape of the city, the river and canal system of Saigon - Cho Lon - Gia Dinh - Ho Chi Minh City is also a place to preserve the cultural sources, family, village and homeland sentiments; the shadow of father, mother, children's voices, the source for generations of heroic children to follow the call of the country, the witness of the legendary train that has entered the heart of every Vietnamese person", Chairman Phan Van Mai shared.

Many audience members attending the show said they were surprised by the national pride of previous generations when watching the grand, large-scale musical.

"The River Tells Stories Season 2 - The Legendary Train" is a musical that combines history, cinema, and entertainment to convey meaningful messages from the heroic historical story of the nation, to feel a surge of pride in the nation's historical journey.

According to general director Le Hai Yen, "Storytelling River Season 2 - Legendary Train" continues the direction of season 1, telling stories that take place on the Saigon River through the chapters: Launching - Arriving - Setting sail - Making waves - Reaching far.

The show has climaxes, excitement with big scenes, emotional highlights, deep into the characters' inner psyche, exploiting historical stories and anecdotes about historical figures in important historical contexts, associated with special trains.

A grand musical with over 1,000 actors on the banks of the Saigon River

The program takes the audience through many emotions, from the indomitable pride of the previous generation to the dynamism and creativity of today's generation.

Previously, the first Ho Chi Minh City River Festival held in August 2023 attracted more than 210,000 visitors to the city during the festival week and more than 60,000 visitors directly participated in the activities; revenue and service capacity of the accommodation system, tourist attractions and waterway services increased from 20 to 50% compared to normal.

Ho Chi Minh City aims to build the River Festival into a long-term, large-scale annual event, bearing the city's own mark.

9,000 viewers watched the show live

On this occasion, people and tourists can experience waterway tourism programs, attractive tourism and shopping stimulus programs; immerse themselves in the exciting atmosphere of the river swimming championship, stand-up paddleboard championship and water sports activities at Bach Dang Wharf - District 1, Viet Star Wharf - District 7; experience the "On the wharf, under the boat" Fruit Week at Binh Dong Wharf - District 8; the "Re-enactment of the Western floating market" space at Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe inner city wharf; Southern fruit festival at Suoi Tien tourist area with river parade activities, culinary contest, artistic lighting decoration, cultural space, art performances, folk games...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoanh-trang-dem-nhac-kich-chuyen-tau-huyen-thoai-mo-man-le-hoi-song-nuoc-tphcm-185240531210706173.htm