A feast for the eyes at the opening night of the festival for peace in the place that once divided the two parts of the country

A special art program at the Hien Luong - Ben Hai historical site, which witnessed the country's division for more than 20 years, combined with drone performances and fireworks opened the first Peace Festival of Quang Tri province.

Màn bắn pháo hoa cuốn hút tại đêm khai mạc - Ảnh: HOÀNG TÁO — *Fascinating fireworks display at the opening night - Photo: HOANG TAO*

On the evening of July 6, at the Hien Luong - Ben Hai National Special Relic Site, Quang Tri Province, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened the 2024 Peace Festival with the theme "Joining hands to build a peaceful world". The ceremony was attended by Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long and tens of thousands of Quang Tri people.

Honoring the value of peace

The For Peace Festival aims to pay tribute to the heroic martyrs who heroically sacrificed for the survival of the Fatherland; commemorate the victims of war; convey the message that Vietnam loves peace, the Vietnamese people are friendly, tolerant, humane and wish to contribute to building and preserving peace for humanity. Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan said that throughout the thousands of years of history of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people, the spirit of peace and morality "Using great justice to defeat cruelty, using humanity to replace violence" has been deeply ingrained in the blood of every Vietnamese person. Having gone through many wars, thanks to peace, Vietnam has risen from a poor country to a middle-income country, aiming to become a developed, high-income country by 2045 - more than anyone, the Vietnamese people deeply understand the value of peace.

Chương trình nghệ thuật đặc biệt gây cảm xúc mạnh đến người xem về giá trị của hòa bình - Ảnh: HOÀNG TÁO — *The special art program strongly touched the audience about the value of peace - Photo: HOANG TAO*

She highly appreciated the initiative of Quang Tri province in organizing the Festival for Peace. From the land destroyed by war that is now strongly reviving, the festival will convey the message of the strong vitality of the Vietnamese people who love peace, friendship, cooperation and development, calling on humanity to join hands to build sustainable peace for the world. "The successful organization of the Festival for Peace will contribute to deepening the Vietnamese national value system of "Peace, unity, independence, rich people, strong country, democracy, fairness, civilization, happiness" that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has identified as the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people", Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan emphasized.

Open festival with no closing date

"The Festival for Peace, initiated and organized by Quang Tri province and everyone joins hands to create the value of peace, is an open festival, with only an opening day and no closing day because peace is always the desire and eternal aspiration of humanity", Mr. Vo Van Hung - Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee - emphasized. Through this festival, Quang Tri hopes that the province will not only become a cultural space for peace, a destination for peace, a meeting place for peace-loving friends from all over the world, but also contribute to promoting potential, attracting investment, tourism... contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of the province and the region.

Tái hiện hình ảnh Thánh Gióng ở đêm khai mạc - Ảnh: HOÀNG TÁO — *Re-enacting the image of Saint Giong at the opening night - Photo: HOANG TAO*

On the opening night, thousands of Quang Tri people were delighted with the spectacular art performances. The stage was set up both on land and underwater, with drones performing light and fireworks. Throughout July, Quang Tri organized many activities such as the culinary culture festival "Taste of the sunny flower land", Trinh Cong Son's music night "Peace Song", international music exchange "Melody of Peace", fine arts and painting exhibition, international conference on peace lessons from Vietnam's experience...