HÀ NỘI — Monsoon Music Festival (MMF), Việt Nam’s biggest music event, will now be celebrated annually as part of an ambitious plan to develop culture in the capital through 2020, with a vision to 2030. The plan was recently approved by the Hà Nội’s People’s Committee head, Nguyễn Đức Chung.

Since its debut in 2014, MMF has attracted thousands of music lovers from Việt Nam and other Asian countries, drawn by its diversity of music styles. Some international big names have performed at MMF, including the all-female Australian/British string quartet Bond, Grammy-winning soul singer Joss Stone and the famous German rock band Scorpions.

The festival  also aims to introduce new music projects and offer a playground for different generations to share their passion for music in the space of a world cultural heritage, the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long.

Hà Nội will also hold other annual cultural events, like an international film festival, cherry blossom festival and a Vietnam Airlines Classic Hanoi Concert.

The city will also preserve and promote traditional art forms in combination with modern ones; encourage the establishment of enterprises, particular those focused on music, arts and event organisation. The artists will receive city support.

To establish an art market, the city will build an auction centre to train art specialists meeting both domestic and international management and judgment standards.

In terms of cultural tourism, Hà Nội will turn the Ba Vì–Suối Hai tourist attraction into a national tourism centre in the 2025-2030 period, hoping to welcome 30 million tourists in 2020, of whom over 5 million will be international tourists. — VNS