Tourists visit Cái Răng Floating Market in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Cần Thơ. Cái Răng Floating Market Culture and Tourism Festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — Thừa Thiên Huế Province’s People’s Committee on Friday announced the cancellation of Huế Festival amid a new COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

The 11th biennial cultural event Huế Festival had been rescheduled for August 26-31, five months after its original dates on April 1-6. It will now resume at a later date.

The festival was to feature áo dài (traditional dress) display, a food show and artistic performances.

The Huế Festival Centre will send apology letters to embassies, travel agencies, sponsors, visitors and local residents.

The central coastal province of Khánh Hòa on Thursday has also announced the cancellation of its 2020 Traditional Culture Festival scheduled for August 1.

The big music show at April 2 Square in Nha Trang City was to feature performances from many popular singers such as Đàm Vĩnh Hưng, Hồ Quỳnh Hương, Hiền Thục and Võ Hạ Trâm.

It was expected to attract 3,000 - 4,000 people, said Nguyễn Đắc Tài, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

The crowd gathering will put people at risk, so the committee decided to cancel the festival, Tài said.  

The annual Cái Răng Floating Market Culture and Tourism Festival in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Cần Thơ has also been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The festival scheduled for August 1-3 features a wide range of cultural, art and tourism events, including a boat parade along the river, free tropical fresh fruits and traditional cakes from the delta, đờn ca tài tử (southern folk music) performances and tourism promotion activities.

As one of major cultural and tourism promotion events in the Mekong Delta, the festival is designed to preserve the Cái Răng Floating Market culture recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage and foster tourism cooperation with other regions in the country. —VNS