Grand Opening Ceremony of the 11th Hanoi Sports Festival

This is a major sporting event, a practical way to celebrate the 18th Congress of the Hanoi City Party Committee, leading up to the 14th National Congress of the Party.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong (left) and Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang attend the opening ceremony of the Congress. Photo by Thuan Thu.

Attending the event were central government leaders: Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong; Director of the Vietnam Sports Department Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet; and Secretary General of the Vietnam Olympic Committee Tran Van Manh.

Representing Hanoi City were: Comrade Vu Dai Thang, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, and Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee; members of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee: Tran Dinh Canh, Head of the City Party Committee's Internal Affairs Department; Tran The Cuong, Standing Vice Chairman of the City People's Council; Major General Dao Van Nhan, Commander of the Hanoi Capital Command; Vu Thu Ha, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee and Head of the Organizing Committee of the Congress; Bach Lien Huong, Director of the City Department of Culture and Sports and Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the Congress… along with a large number of athletes from various communes and wards.

The opening ceremony of the Congress was solemn and spectacular. Photo by Thuan Thu

The 11th Hanoi Sports Festival in 2025 is the largest event of its kind to date, marking a new stage of development for both mass sports and high-performance sports in Hanoi. With 25 competitive sports and thousands of athletes and referees participating, the Festival is not only a platform for training and competition, but also a celebration of sportsmanship, solidarity, and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle within the community.

In her opening remarks at the Congress, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha emphasized that, over the years, Hanoi has always paid attention to investing in the development of sports in the capital city in a comprehensive, advanced, modern, and internationally integrated manner, leading the country in sports for all, high-performance sports, and physical development to improve health, build a rich and healthy cultural and spiritual life for the people, and foster a spirit of solidarity, self-reliance, and self-improvement, contributing to the achievements and maintaining the position of a leading high-performance sports unit in the country at regional and international arenas.

Comrade Vu Thu Ha informed that the Hanoi City Sports Festival is the city's largest sports event, held every four years. Over 10 editions, the festival has grown significantly in scale, quality, number of sports, and number of participating athletes, setting many records. It is also an opportunity for participating units to showcase their strength, affirm the unity and comprehensive development of the sports movement among the general public, officials, civil servants, armed forces, students, and to discover and select high-achieving athletes for further training and participation in the National Sports Festival and other high-performance sports events at the national and regional levels.

In preparation for the 11th Hanoi City Sports Festival in 2025, from July to November 2025, communes, wards, departments, armed forces units, agencies, and schools simultaneously organized grassroots-level sports festivals with many exciting activities and competitions, attracting nearly one million participants. These grassroots-level sports festivals truly became a celebration, creating motivation, fostering solidarity, and increasing public interest in physical training and health improvement.

The Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee affirmed that the 11th Hanoi City Sports Festival in 2025 will be the festival with the largest number of competitive sports, with nearly 8,000 eligible athletes participating. The athletes will compete in a spirit of solidarity, honesty, and sportsmanship, showcasing their talents to achieve the best possible results.

The opening ceremony of the Congress began with a parade showcasing the strength of over 1,700 officials, coaches, and athletes from 11 emulation clusters of 126 communes, wards, and departments, agencies, and organizations; along with nearly 1,000 artists, actors, and athletes participating in sports performances and artistic shows to welcome the event.

The athletes carry the torch. Photo by Thuan Thu.

Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang performs the ceremony of passing on the flame, joining the athletes in lighting the Games' torch. Photo by Thuan Thu.

Hanoi City People's Committee Chairman Vu Dai Thang performed the flame-passing ceremony, joining the athletes in lighting the Games' torch. Following this, athlete Le Anh Phuong (sports dance) and referee Tran Van Hau (national volleyball referee) took the oath on behalf of the athletes and referees officiating the tournament.

The oath-taking ceremony of athlete Le Anh Phuong (sports dance) and referee Tran Van Hau (national volleyball referee). Photo by Thuan Thu.

Following the ceremony, the festivities began with a welcoming art program themed "Brilliant Hanoi - Aspiration for Greater Heights," featuring performances by artists and singers such as Anh Tú, Đông Hùng, Lâm Bảo Ngọc, Hoàng Hồng Ngọc, Thu Thủy, Minh Quân, RamC, Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh Chi, the Army Ceremonial Troupe, the HT Dance Troupe, students from the Special Forces Officer School, athletes from the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Center, and various Hanoi cultural and sports groups and clubs.

Some photos from the Opening Ceremony of the 11th Hanoi Sports Festival – 2025 :