A photo of the opening ceremony at the Huế Festival 2018, which gathered 1.2 million visitors and thousands of artists. — Photo huefestival.com

THỪA THIÊN – HUẾ — The organisers of the Huế Festival have just announced the main activities taking place at the 11th Huế Festival, which will be held between August 28 and September 2.

Phan Ngọc Thọ, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, confirmed the event will be an important chance for the locality to promote tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The event, dubbed Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development – Huế is always New, will bring visitors fresh and unique experiences on culture, history and art,” he said.

An artistic programme will open the festival at 8pm on August 28 at Ngọ Môn (Noon Gate) Square, honouring the traditional and contemporary cultural values of the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế and other regions of the country.

A street carnival will take place every day at 4.30pm from August 29 to September 2 featuring the national dress of various ASEAN countries through costume performances and dances.

A food festival will also be held during the days at Thương Bạc Park, offering famous local dishes.

A music programme featuring famous songs by the great musician Trịnh Công Sơn (1939-2001) will be held at 8pm on August 30.

Another arts programme will take place at 8pm on August 31, featuring the Hương (Perfume) River, which runs through Huế, while leading DJs in Việt Nam and the region will entertain guests with electronic music on the evening of September 1.

The closing ceremony will take place at 8pm on September 2, together with an “áo dài” performance.

Various community activities will be organised before, during and after the festival including a festival of art clubs nationwide, kite festival, beer festival, a trade fair, VNExpress Marathon Huế and fine art exhibitions.

The biennial festival was initially slated for April 1-6 but was postponed due to COVID-19.

The Huế Festival 2018 gathered nearly 1,400 artists and professional performers, including 388 from 24 international art troupes and nearly 1,000 from Việt Nam.

Thousands of amateur artists also took part in the festival, which welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors. —VNS