Exciting Ngo Boat Race in Can Tho City 2025

VHO - Taking place at the grandstand of the racetrack on the Maspero River (Can Tho City), the 2025 Can Tho City Ngo Boat Race is part of the Ok Om Bok Festival - traditional Ngo boat race of the Khmer people in the South with the participation of 61 male and female Ngo boat teams from localities inside and outside the City.

This is a traditional cultural and sporting activity imbued with the identity of the Khmer people in the South, and is also the most anticipated highlight in the series of events of the Ooc Om Boc Festival this year.

The tournament is a traditional cultural and sports activity imbued with the identity of the Khmer people in the South.

The 2025 race takes place over two days (November 4 and 5), bringing together 61 male and female Ngo boat teams, including 13 teams from Ca Mau province.

The teams compete in two distances: 1,200 meters for men and 1,000 meters for women, promising to bring exciting and thrilling competitions on the Maspero river.

The organizers said that participating in this year's tournament, there are 14 new pagodas and 7 pagodas repairing and renovating Ngo boats.

Athletes at the pagodas have spent 2 months or more practicing to choose a team that is suitable in terms of health and tactics, determined to bring good results to the village.

The tournament brings together 48 teams from Can Tho City and 13 teams from Ca Mau.

Ngo boat is not only a means of competition, but also a sacred symbol in the religious life of the Khmer people.

The beautiful and sturdy Ngo boat will demonstrate the creativity of the temple and the training team, while also exuding prosperity and abundance in the lives of Buddhist followers.

The Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Racing of the Khmer people has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage, and in 2022 was established by the Vietnam Guinness World Records Organization as "The festival with the largest number of Ngo boats and athletes in Vietnam".

The competitions at the tournament attracted great attention from local people and tourists.

From early morning, tens of thousands of people, tourists and fans were present on both sides of the river to cheer, creating a vibrant festival atmosphere, full of traditional colors of Southern Khmer.

Tens of thousands of locals and tourists joined in the bustling festival atmosphere, cheering enthusiastically for the rowers.

The brilliant colors of Ngo boats on the Maspero River create a vibrant cultural space, expressing the spirit of solidarity, pride and aspiration of the Khmer people in the South in a dynamic and integrated Can Tho.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/soi-dong-giai-dua-ghe-ngo-tp-can-tho-2025-179342.html