“The Sound of Heritage”: When sports and music come together

“Heritage Sound”: When sports and music come together - photo 1 — Heritage imprints create the attraction of the Standard Chartered Marathon Heritage Hanoi

Highly anticipated sporting event

Standard Chartered Marathon Heritage Hanoi 2025, with the main sponsor being Standard Chartered Bank – a global financial institution with more than 120 years of presence in Vietnam – is considered the biggest sporting event of the year.

The race will take place from November 7 to 9, with the official start date on Sunday, November 9. This is the tenth time Standard Chartered has organized a marathon in Vietnam, and is also one of the newest destinations in the bank's international marathon system.

As a member of the global Standard Chartered Marathon chain, all four race distances – marathon (42.195 km), half marathon (21.0975 km), 10 km and 5 km – are certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).

This certification allows athletes to use their achievements to register for prestigious races around the world such as the Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon or New York City Marathon.

This year's tournament is expected to attract more than 2,500 international athletes from nearly 70 countries, contributing to making Hanoi a new sports center in the region.

Not only is it a gathering place for excellent runners, the Standard Chartered Hanoi Heritage Marathon is also a sporting event imbued with cultural identity, as each route and each step passes through landmarks associated with history and urban memories.

Amidst the space filled with the breath of heritage, Hanoi can not only be seen but also "felt" by every stride and breath of sports lovers.

From running steps to heritage melody

The most unique and new feature of this year’s season is the “Heritage Sound” Choir Festival – held for the first time as a companion activity to the international marathon in Vietnam. “Heritage Sound” is not only a music stage, but also a place to connect the community of sports and art lovers, sharing pride in national culture.

According to Ms. Trinh Nhu Quynh, Director of External Relations, Marketing and Branding of Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam, the festival is organized with the goal of spreading humanistic values, creating a space where sports and music go together in the spirit of dedication and sharing.

“The 'Heritage Sound' Festival is a cultural and artistic activity that aims to connect music and sports, honoring the values of intangible cultural heritage, modern and traditional. This initiative affirms that the race is not only a purely sporting event but also a cultural and social bridge, where the spirit of sustainability and community responsibility are clearly demonstrated,” she shared.

Mr. Tran Quang Linh, Director of the Festival, said that the program is expected to arouse cultural pride in the young generation, helping to illuminate traditional values with today's musical language. This year's festival attracts more than 50 performances from choirs, artists, students and art organizations across the country. The official performance will take place on the evening of November 8 at Quan Ngua Sports Palace, where performing arts, sound and light blend together in a brilliant space of music and heritage.

“Heritage Sound” is expected to become an emotional highlight for this year’s season, when audiences, athletes and people of the capital join in melodies with the Vietnamese spirit.

From folk songs to modern harmonies, from large-scale choirs to clear children's songs, each performance aims at a common message: honoring national culture, affirming the vitality of heritage in contemporary life.

“Heritage Sound”: When sports and music come together - photo 2 — Jury of the Heritage Voices Choir Festival

Arts Council – guarantee of aesthetic value

To ensure professional quality, the Organizing Committee of "Heritage Sound" invited prestigious names in the fields of music and culture to participate in the Art Advisory Council.

Among them are musician Giang Son, a member of the Vietnam Musicians Association, who is known for his sophisticated arrangement style with a modern breath on folk music; conductor Dong Quang Vinh, a talented young artist, a pioneer in bringing symphonic and folk music closer to the public; and journalist Nguyen Anh Vu, Editor-in-Chief of Van Hoa Newspaper, representing the voice of experts in art and cultural communication.

The combination of three people from three different fields but sharing the same spirit of dedication to art has created a profound council, both ensuring quality and providing high aesthetic direction for the festival.

Besides the artistic elements, the program also focuses on community interaction, with many exchange activities, games, and gifts for children and the audience.

When sports become a cultural bridge

Standard Chartered Marathon Heritage Hanoi 2025 is a testament to the trend of combining sports with culture and tourism that is becoming increasingly evident in Vietnam.

From “Ha Long Heritage Run”, “Can Tho Heritage Run” to “Hanoi Heritage Marathon”, the events all carry the mission of promoting the image of the country, people and cultural heritage of Vietnam to international friends.

Through sideline activities such as “Heritage Sound”, the message of sports does not stop at health or achievements, but also spreads spiritual values: solidarity, pride, sharing and goodness.

With the message “Breakthrough, reach further – Together, we run further”, this year’s race continues to affirm Vietnam’s position on the international marathon map.

Each athlete who reaches the finish line not only completes a physical race but also becomes a "cultural ambassador" contributing to promoting the image of Vietnam as dynamic, modern but still imbued with identity.

“Heritage Sound” is therefore not only a music festival but also a crossroads between sports, art and heritage, where every song, every step is a tribute to the beauty of Vietnamese culture, a bridge between tradition and modernity, between national pride and the spirit of integration.

The Standard Chartered Marathon Heritage Hanoi 2025 is the 10th race in the globally renowned Standard Chartered Marathon system. This is the largest international race in Vietnam, competing in 4 main distances, including 42.195km (marathon); 21.0975km (half marathon); 10km; 5km and an additional special distance for children from 5 to 9 years old.

The race is part of the Heritage Run system (held annually including the following races: Hanoi Heritage International Marathon - November, Ha Long Heritage International Marathon - November and Can Tho Heritage International Marathon - December) owned and directly organized by DHA Vietnam, a member of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Runners (AIMS). Achievements at the race are recognized as a condition for registration to participate in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age-Based World Championship - an international organization that owns a system of 7 most prestigious marathon races on the planet (World Marathon Majors), including the Boston Marathon.

With the message Together, we run further throughout the first season, Standard Chartered Marathon Heritage Hanoi continues to set the mission of spreading the spirit of sports connecting and accompanying the Vietnamese running community. The race also aims to honor heritage values and affirm its position as the leading international-class running race in Vietnam.

Event Date | Event: November 7-9, 2025

Race day: Sunday, November 9, 2025

Location | Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

Distances: 42.195km | 21.0975km | 10km | 5km

Website: https://hanoi-marathon.com/

Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com

Email: hanoi.marathon@dhavietnam.vn

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/thanh-am-di-san-khi-the-thao-va-am-nhac-cung-hoa-nhip-177747.html