Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) - A traditional dance and royal performance at Ngo Mon (Noon Gate) in the imperial capital sparked the opening ceremony of the Hue Festival 2024 on June 7, marking one of the most successful cultural events organised in Hue city for 24 years.

The festival has been known as an annual rendezvous of art troupes and friends from the world and provinces and cities in Vietnam to promote cultural exchanges and friendship ties among countries in peaceful space for decades.

It has helped promote culture and typical features of traditional Hue lifestyle and the country, channelling charm and beauty of nature and people of Hue city.

Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and head of its Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung praised the central province for developing the festival as an international level event after 24 years.

“The festival has seen as favourite destination for international friends showing off their typical culture for peace, friendship and cooperation as well as building together a world of peace and prosperity on the base of multi-culture from worldwide,” Trung said at the opening ceremony.

“Hue Festival has helped boost socio-economic development, and also promote the country’s traditional culture in the global comprehensive and deeply integration process,” he said.

“Thua Thien - Hue has been designed as a centrally-run city based on the conservation and promotion of the values of the imperial heritage and cultural identity of Hue by 2025, and the festival city – a centre of culture, education, tourism and health care in Asia by 2045,” he added.

To date, eight world heritages preserved by the province have been recognised by UNESCO.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Phuong said the festival has been built as a traditional cultural brand of Hue for the past 24 years, creating it a favourite destination for international tourists and investors.

Phuong said the 2024 version was opened at Kien Trung Palace – an amazing architecture and fine arts design of the royal citadel – to boost the brand of the festival to worldwide.

The festival, entitled ‘Cultural Heritage amid Integration and Development’, has drawn the participation of 30 art troupes from France, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam, creating series of art performances and attractive stage space for local residents and visitors on June 7-12, Phuong said.

“Art performances from different countries will be staged in the space of UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites, and open-door and street demonstrations. We hope that this year’s festival edition will be one of the most impressive events in the past two decades,” he added.

The Hue Festival 2024 will also feature performances of international and local art troupes, a food festival and shows of the world famous heritage of Hue royal court music and songs.

An exceptional sound and light show will be demonstrated by the French art troupe on June 8, while Belgium’s Royal Merchtem Stiltwalkers group will present a grand performance on five-metre-high stilts in the city.

Other art troupes will also offer contemporary art performance, modern dances from Cergy (France), Flamenco Hispano (Spain), the Eisa Urakaji troupe (Japan), the Zhejiang theatre company (China), pianist Steve Barakatt (Canada), and two art groups from the RoK.

The province has resumed series of ancient art performances including the Ban Soc (royal calendar delivery) – the event that kings under the Nguyen Dynasty organised to distribute calendars for royal mandarins at Noon Gate – and promoting the UNESCO heritage including the ancient citadel relic complex, Hue royal court music, Nguyen Dynasty’s wooden blocks, Nguyen Dynasty’s royal administrative documents, and literature on Hue royal architecture.

A night show will be dedicated to song-writer Trinh Cong Son, a Hue-born musician in combination with a show of Ao Dai (traditional long dress) designed by his younger sister Trinh Hoang Dieu.

A vegetarian festival organised by Hue's Buddhist monks and a beer festival from Carlsberg, along with a crazy music, will be opened for all.

🍌 The festival would help tourism industry growing dramatically and sustainably, according to festival organisers./.