It is the first time a performance production from Việt Nam has won two categories at the Blooloop Innovation Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious honours in entertainment and destination development.

Symphony of the Green Island claimed both the Spectacular Award and the Public Choice Award. The Blooloop Innovation Awards assess entries not only for scale and advanced technology but also for their ability to shape future visitor experiences through original creative vision, compelling spatial storytelling, emotional engagement and real-world destination impact.

In the Spectacular category, which recognises large-scale performances with strong creative depth and audience impact, the Cat Ba production outshone high-profile global competitors, including projects from Disney, Expo Osaka in Japan and Puy du Fou in France, all major names in international live entertainment. The result highlights Việt Nam’s growing ability not only to meet global standards but in some areas to surpass them with a distinctive creative approach.

The Public Choice Award is determined by votes from experts and travellers worldwide. Winning this category reflects the show’s broad popularity and the strong emotional connection it has forged with international audiences.

Symphony of the Green Island is an ambitious fusion of art, extreme sports and performance technology, staged on the open waters of Cat Ba. It has been recognised with two Guinness World Records: Largest jet ski formation launching fireworks and Most backflips on a flyboard in one minute.

The show is choreographed and performed live on an open-water stage spanning more than 50,000 square metres. Drawing inspiration from the legend of the Cat Ba crane fairy and the Five Elements philosophy in Eastern culture, it features international athletes performing in tightly synchronised formations using jetski, flyboard and jetsurf. These demanding extreme sports are precisely timed to music, lighting, fireworks and laser effects, creating a rare artistic feat within Việt Nam’s live performance landscape.

Since its debut, Symphony of the Green Island has quickly become a nightly must-see attraction for visitors to Cat Ba during the summer, appealing to both domestic and international travellers.

François Lefèvre, a visitor from Lyon in France, said: “I never thought Việt Nam could organize an outdoor show of this scale. It felt very similar to when I visited Cinéscénie in France, but here it was even more dynamic thanks to the music, fireworks, and extreme sports.”

Beyond audience appeal, the show has also helped energise the island’s night-time economy and social life. Since its launch, the central Cat Ba area has welcomed thousands of visitors each evening. On the peak night of June 19, the area recorded about 7,000 visitors, a new high for the summer of 2025.

The Blooloop Innovation Awards, held in partnership with AREA15 in the United States, are a globally respected platform celebrating imaginative attractions and destination experiences. The judging panel includes leading industry experts and strategic thinkers from major entertainment and visitor destination organisations worldwide, with awards recognising projects that demonstrate breakthrough creativity and help shape the future of global visitor experiences.

The 2025 win is not only a recognition of a single show but also a significant moment for Cat Ba as it develops into a leading marine tourism and entertainment destination. The production has become a new cultural icon of the island’s night-time scene and has contributed meaningfully to tourism growth and local transformation.

The achievement also reflects Sun Group’s long-term vision of developing world-class tourism and entertainment destinations that integrate cultural values with sustainable local development.

The achievement also reflects Sun Group’s long-term vision of developing world-class tourism and entertainment destinations that integrate cultural values with sustainable local development.

Recognised as Asia's Leading Integrated Tourism Group by the World Travel Awards for four consecutive years, Sun Group holds the record for the most award-winning and record-breaking shows in Việt Nam. From Vu dieu tren may on Fansipan, named by the Vietnam Records Organization as The most unique cultural show representing Northwest heritage, to Vu hoi Anh Duong at Ba Na Hills featuring more than 200 international performers, and the multi-sensory Kiss of the Sea in Phu Quoc staged at the Guinness World Record-certified Largest permanent water projection theater in the world, each production goes beyond entertainment to create new cultural landmarks.

These successive international awards and records underline Sun Group’s capacity to deliver pioneering tourism products and reinforce its long-term strategy of using culture as the foundation, art as the medium and technology as the catalyst to create distinctive and meaningful destination experiences.