The annual Hồ Chí Minh City Áo Dài Festival is to honour, preserve, and promote the cultural values of Vietnam’s traditional áo dài. — Photo bvhttdl.gov.vn

HỒ CHÍ MINH CITY — The 12th Hồ Chí Minh City Áo Dài Festival 2026 will run throughout March, the municipal Department of Tourism told a meeting on March 3.

Co-hosted by the municipal Department of Tourism, the Việt Nam Women’s Union’s local chapter and relevant partners, the event is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the official renaming of Sài Gòn – Gia Định to Hồ Chí Minh City (July 2, 1976 – 2026), the 1,986th anniversary of the Hai Bà Trưng Uprising, and the 116th anniversary of the International Women’s Day (March 8).

This year’s edition packs in 17 major events all month long, creating a vibrant journey in which the traditional costume (áo dài) appears not only on performance stages but also weaves into everyday community life, urban landscapes and tourism experiences.

The festival peaks from March 6 to 8, bringing together 37 designers nationwide, nearly 400 collections, 600 performers and models, and 37 ambassadors from diverse sectors to create a vivid showcase of creativity.

A centrepiece on March 8 morning will combine a mass folk dance performance with an áo dài parade to mark the Hai Bà Trưng Uprising anniversary and International Women’s Day. Organisers expect around 50,000 participants at various venues, including some 3,000 on Nguyễn Huệ walking street in Sài Gòn Ward.

Lê Trương Hiền Hòa, Deputy Director of the department, said this year marks the first time the festival is staged across the new, supersised Hồ Chí Minh City – a modern and multi-centred “mega city” that remains rich in cultural identity.

Organisers expect around 50,000 participants at various venues, including some 3,000 on Nguyễn Huệ walking street in Sài Gòn Ward. — Photo nld.com.vn

The whole thing is tied together by the Golden Thread theme, a nod to Việt Nam’s legendary silk and brocade roots. Every collection and event is pitched as one more thread in a giant and colourful tourism tapestry called Việt Nam, with Hồ Chí Minh City playing the shuttle that weaves tradition with aspiration, turning heritage into a launch pad to put áo dài on the world tourism map, he said.

For the local tourism sector, every áo dài sashaying down the street, popping up in galleries or posing at historic spots is basically a “living cultural ambassador”, spreading an image of a friendly and culturally rich destination while inviting foreigners to explore more of the city, he added.

Locals and visitors can dive into the áo dài-themed exhibition and interactive zones along Nguyễn Huệ walking street, complete with art installations that connect the dress with the city’s food scene, tourism hotspots and classic handicrafts. They can also experience the Áo Dài and Metro journey, hopping the metro line at Bến Thành and Opera House stations to connect all the must-see experiential tourism spots. — VNA/VNS