Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports hands over the Certificates of Creative Cultural Space in Hà Nội to 82 spaces that fully meet the criteria of the Classification and Evaluation Criteria for Creative Cultural Spaces. — Photos courtesy of the organiser

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội People’s Committee announced the framework for the Hà Nội Creative Design Festival 2026 and launched the Network of Creative Spaces in the capital on December 10.

The event is jointly organised by the Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports and the Architecture Magazine in collaboration with UNESCO.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Hà Nội People's Committee Vũ Thu Hà said that the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 will be transformed beyond the model of an annual cultural and artistic festival, becoming an urban creative ecosystem – a place to gather, experience and spread new ideas, contributing to improving the quality of life for the people of the capital city. 

Vice Chairman of the Hà Nội People's Committee Vũ Thu Hà speaks at the event.

In particular, the 2026 festival will mark a significant shift - from an event-based model to an interdisciplinary approach, connecting visual arts, design, technology, architecture, sound, data, crafts and performance. This will create multi-sensory experiences, new art models and internationally interactive spaces, according to Hà.

Hà emphasised that Hà Nội city hopes that projects and initiatives within the framework of the festival can promote cultural values, tangible and intangible heritage, as well as traditional crafts, so that they can become creative products with commercialisation potential, sustainable development and contribute to Hanoi's creative economy.

"This is where all efforts to preserve culture, innovate thinking and develop the economy are harmoniously connected," Hà added.

Jonathan Wallace Baker, Head of UNESCO Representation in Việt Nam, said that transforming the festival model into a creative ecosystem will create sustainable opportunities for the creative community, turning creativity into a shared practice in urban life. UNESCO said it is committed to continuing to accompany Hà Nội on its journey to build a space of connection, imagination, and innovation.

“Creativity will become a shared practice – where everyone participates, creates together and integrates it into daily life,” Baker added.

A view of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2024.

In 2026, the Hanoi Creative Design Festival will shift from 'organising a festival' to 'building an urban creative ecosystem' with an interdisciplinary mindset and connection, such as visual arts, design, technology, architecture, sound, data, crafts and performance, creating multi-sensory experiences, new art forms and interactive spaces with an international character.

The 2026 festival will be organised into five spatial clusters: Heritage Space: Đồng Xuân Market – Bắc Qua and Đồng Xuân Cultural Industry Centre; Old Quarter Space: Hà Nội's Old Quarter area, 36 streets and wards; Future Space: Network of parks in the city; and the Ecological & Community Space: Spreading across the entire city.

It will commence with the 'Creative Gathering' event, scheduled to take place in early January 2026 at Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Square and the Hoàn Kiếm area.

At the event, the Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports awarded Certificates of Creative Cultural Space in Hà Nội to 82 spaces that fully meet the criteria of the Classification and Evaluation Criteria for Creative Cultural Spaces. The formation of this network is expected to become an important foundation for building the creative ecosystem of the capital in the new phase.

First launched in 2021, the Hà Nội Creative Design Festival has formed a unique ecosystem: a convergence of creative resources, a dialogue between the past and the future to create urban identity; a place connecting heritage with art and technology to promote the creative industry, making practical contributions to the creative economy and the process of international integration. — VNS