Sixteen cultural and art programmes will be held in Hanoi’s districts from May 13 to 23 to celebrate the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31). (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Sixteen cultural and art programmes will be held in Hanoi’sdistricts from May 13 to 23 to celebrate the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAGames 31), praising the Party, late President HoChi Minh, the land and people of Vietnam and Hanoi.
The Hanoi Committee of the Ho Chi Minh CommunistYouth Union has also utilised social networks to promote the capital city’simage before, during and after the Games.
It has deployed volunteers to support domestic andforeign visitors and will organise the Southeast Asian Youth Festival on May7-8 at the pedestrian zone around Hoan Kiem Lake.
Hanoi has encouraged local businesses to joinefforts in product promotion, especially handicrafts and those that meet theOCOP (One Commune-One Product) standards, in line with regulations of theOrganising Committee of SEA Games 31.
Apart from tourism events, including the HanoiTourism Festival, the Tourism Gift Festival and the Hanoi Food and CraftVillage Tourism Festival, the city has decorated its streets and competitionvenues with banners and billboards to welcome the important regional sportevent.
To implement tasks assigned by the municipalPeople’s Committee, the Department of Construction has asked agencies to workharder to ensure environmental hygiene, water supply and lighting for the Games.
SEA Games 31, themed “For a Stronger South EastAsia”, will be held in Hanoi and 11 cities and provinces from May 12 to 23.
The capital city will be hosting the opening andclosing ceremonies of SEA Games 31. Closely coordinating with the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports isracing against time to rehearse for the ceremonies and to bring to the audiencethe most exciting art shows, he noted.
The opening will hopefully tell local andinternational audiences stories about the unique culture, tradition and peopleof Vietnam and promote the games’ slogan “For a stronger Southeast Asia”,Director of the department Do Dinh Hong told reporters.
Featuring 40 sports with 526 events, SEA Games 31is expected to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event wasinitially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic’simpact./.
The northern provinces of Phu Tho and Nam Dinh, which house the venues for men’s football qualifying matches at SEA Games 31, have completed their preparations, ready for the regional biennial tournament.
The Vietnam Sports Administration (VSA) on May 4 held a ceremony to ink a doping analysis contract at the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), according to the Organising Committee.
Hanoi has mobilised nearly 2,000 soldiers, artists, actors, athletes and students from 14 art and sports units to participate in a special art programme at the opening and closing ceremonies of SEA Games 31.
Vietnamese kickboxers are currently in intensive training in order to show the best performance at the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).
The Vietnamese team will gather on June 26 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, where they will train until July 14 before departing for Indonesia for the ASEAN U23 Championship 2025, which runs from July 15 to 29. Vietnam will face Laos on July 19 and Cambodia on July 22 in the group stage.
The exhibition showcases more than 100 valuable documents and artifacts, divided into two main parts: “Journalist Nguyen Ai Quoc – Ho Chi Minh” and “President Ho Chi Minh – Founder and Mentor of Vietnamese Revolutionary Press.” This is an opportunity to recall the late leader’s journalism journey and affirm his exceptional role in founding and guiding the revolutionary press in Vietnam.
For the first time, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) has granted Vietnam hosting rights for the two championships, including the Asian women’s solo category, which debuts this year as an officially recognised event.
Eight teams will join the tournament, divided into two groups. Group A features Vietnam, the Philippines, Sichuan Club (China), and Australia, while Group B consists of Vietnam U21, Korabelka Club (Russia), Taiwan (China), and U21 Thailand.
Despite strong home support and high expectations, Vietnam were unable to overcome the defending champions, who secured their third consecutive win over Vietnam in a regional final, following previous victories in 2014 and 2023.
The event, part of Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy strategy through 2030, was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela and USM’s Faculty of International Relations. It attracted thousands of students from universities across Venezuela.
For the first time, Vietnamese audiences will have the opportunity to experience the ballet masterpiece "Don Quixote" in its original version by renowned choreographer Marius Petipa.
The contest carried deep meaning as it was the first time the life of Vietnamese women abroad had been highlighted as the central theme, said poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association.
The event formed part of Vietnam’s ongoing campaign to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the complex at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled to take place in Paris in July.
Creative cultural festivals are fast emerging as a new catalyst for tourism development in Vietnam, as localities increasingly invest in these vibrant events on a more systematic and larger scale.
This marks the first time Vietnam has hosted a continental-level Muay event which will feature competitions across 28 weight categories in combat and eight performance categories.
Coming to the Vietnamese booth, visitors had the chance to take part in a bamboo dance, a workshop on painting woven bamboo or rattan, or quizzes about Vietnam.
These are impressive achievements, not only showing the efforts and prowess of Vietnamese paddlers but also serving as proof of the sports sector’s strategic and systematic investment.
The cultural event in Canberra not only fostered cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Australia but also contributed to promoting Vietnam’s image internationally
The U23 competition will run from June 16 to 22, followed by the U17 event from June 23 to 28, while athletes competing in the U23 category will undergo weight and skill checks ahead of the matches starting June 18, while similar checks for U17 athletes will take place before June 23.
Vietnam continues to sit just behind continental powerhouses Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Sixteen cultural and art programmes will be held in Hanoi’s districts from May 13 to 23 to celebrate the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31). (Photo: VNA) 
