Opening of Thang Long - Hanoi Festival in 2025, promising 'heritage feast'

A performance at the opening ceremony of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 with the theme "Heritage - Connection - Era" - Photo: VNA

The opening ceremony of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 was held solemnly and magnificently on the evening of November 7 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hanoi. Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh attended the event and performed the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony was held on a grand stage running along the large lawn in front of Doan Mon of Thang Long Imperial Citadel, including two large stages facing each other and a four-sided stage in the middle.

After a brief speech by Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha, there was a special art program with the theme " Heritage - Connection - Era".

Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh and delegates opened the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 - Photo: T.DIEU

The show impressed with the grandeur of the stage and set, with each act having hundreds of artists and performers.

Nearly 1,000 professional actors from units such as Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, Hanoi Cheo Theatre, artisans from communes and wards, singers Trong Tan, Tung Duong, Anh Tu, Mai Hoa, singer Kieu Anh...

The art program also attracts viewers by showing off many valuable cultural and artistic heritages of Hanoi as well as other localities.

Hanoi, with its thousand-year history, has carved out a city of rich heritage. Based on that heritage, the city nurtures the aspiration to gradually build a unique Hanoi cultural brand.

The performance reenacts the story of Ly Cong Uan moving the capital to Dai La, changing the name to Thang Long - Photo: T.DIEU

The opening ceremony of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 shows off the heritages of Hanoi and Vietnam - Photo: T.DIEU

Viewers in person and via live television can listen to contemporary folk-style Cheo, Xam, and Ca Tru melodies, and performances from local areas such as Hue singing and cup dancing.

The "specialties" of Hanoi's hundred trades, including pho vendors selling on the streets in the early 20th century, were also skillfully brought to the stage.

Some traditional festivals and plays were also recreated on the opening stage of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025, creating a bustling and vibrant festival atmosphere, such as traditional wrestling, Con dia danh bong (Thanh Liet ward), Cheo Tau dance and singing (O Dien commune), Bai Bong dance and singing (Phu Xuyen), Giao Long dance (Viet Hung ward), Ai Lao dance (Phuc Loi ward), sitting tug of war (Long Bien ward)...

The magnificent stage of the opening ceremony of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 - Photo: T.DIEU

The image of pho ganh - Hanoi's hundreds of professions are also brought to the stage - Photo: T.DIEU

Tung Duong sings at the opening ceremony of Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 - Photo: T.DIEU

Held for the first time, Thang Long - Hanoi Festival is oriented to be an annual, large-scale activity.

Through this activity, Hanoi continues to affirm its image as a "Creative City - where heritage lives with the times", while strongly promoting the Vietnamese cultural brand to international friends.

This year, the Festival takes place from November 1 to 16, with more than 30 activities, promising to become the largest-scale cultural and artistic event ever in the capital, with more than 5,000 artists, artisans and a series of unique activities at Hanoi's iconic heritage spaces.

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