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| An art performance in the opening ceremony of the Huế Festival. Huế Festival lasts from June 7-12 with series of activities and art performance. Photo courtesy of Thừa Thiên Huế Provincial people's committee |
THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — A traditional dance and royal performance at Ngọ Môn (Noon Gate) in the imperial capital sparked the opening ceremony of the Huế Festival 2024 on June 7, marking one of the most successful cultural event that has been organised in Huế City for 24 years.
Huế Festival has been known as an annual rendez-vous of art troupes and friends from the world and provinces and cities in Việt Nam in exchange of cross culture performance and friendship ties among countries in peaceful space for decades.
The Huế Festival has helped promote culture and typical features of traditional Huế lifestyle and the country, channelling charm and beauty of nature and people of Huế City.
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| Dancers perform an Áo Dài (Long dress) show on stage of the opening ceremony of the Huế Festival at Kính Trung Palace on June 7. Photo courtesy of Huế Festival Organising Committee |
Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and Chairman of the CPV Central Committee's Commission for External Relations, Lê Hoài Trung highly praised the efforts that the central province has developed the festival as an international level event after 24 years.
“The festival has seen as favourite destination for international friends showing off their typical culture for peace, friendship and co-operation as well as building together a world of peace and prosperity on the base of multi-culture from worldwide,” Trung said at the festival opening ceremony.
“Huế Festival has helped boosted socio-economic development, but promoting the country’s traditional culture in the global comprehensive and deeply integration process,” he said.
“Thừa Thiên Huế has been designed as a centrally-run city based on the conservation and promotion of the values of the imperial heritage and cultural identity of Huế in 2025, and the Festival City – a centre of culture, education, tourism and health care in Asia in 2045,” he added.
To date, eight world heritages that have been preserved by the province have been recognised by the UNESCO.
Chairman of the provincial people’s committee, Nguyễn Văn Phương said the festival has been built as a traditional cultural brand of Huế for the past 24 years, creating it a favourite destination to international tourism and investors.
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| Ngọ Môn, or Noon Gate is one of the most visited by tourists during the Huế Festival. Many cultural and art performances will be staged in the inner of Imperial City of Huế on June 7-12. VNS Photo Công Thành |
Phương said the festival 2024 was opened at Kiến Trung Palace – an amazing architecture and fine arts design of the royal citadel – in boosting the brand of the festival to worldwide.
“The Festival – entitled ‘Cultural Heritage amid Integration and Development’ – has drawn the participation of 30 art troupes from France, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Japan, China, Korea and Việt Nam, creating series of art performances and attractive stage space for local residents and visitors on June 7-12,” Phương said.
“Art performances from different countries will be staged in space of UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites, and open-door and street demonstrations. We hope that this year’s festival edition will be one of the most impressive event in the past two decades,” he added.
The Huế Festival 2024 will also feature performances of international and local art troupes, a food festival and shows of the world famous heritage of Huế royal court music and songs.
An exceptional sound and light show will be demonstrated by the French art troupe on June 8, while Belgium’s Royal Merchtem Stiltwalkers group will present a grand performance on five-metre-high stilts in the city.
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| An artist from Kon Tum Art Troupe plays stone strings at Noon Gate in exchanging with visitors. Series outdoor and street performances will be taken in Huế City during the Huế Festival. VNS Photo Công Thành |
Other art troupes will also offer contemporary art performance, modern dances from Cergy (France), Flamenco Hispano (Spain), the Eisa Urakaji troupe (Japan), the Zhejiang theatre company (China), pianist Steve Barakatt (Canada), and two art groups from Korea.
The province has resumed series of ancient art performances including the Ban Sóc (royal calendar delivery) – the event that kings under the Nguyễn Dynasty organised to distribute calendars for royal mandarins at Noon Gate – and promoting the UNESCO heritage including the ancient citadel relic complex, Huế royal court music, Nguyễn Dynasty’s wooden blocks, Nguyễn Dynasty’s royal administrative documents, and literature on Huế royal architecture.
A night show will be dedicated to song-writer Trịnh Công Sơn, a Huế-born musician in combination with an áo dài show designed by his younger sister Trịnh Hoàng Diệu.
A vegetarian festival organised by Huế's Buddhist monks and a beer festival from Carlsberg, along with a crazy music will be opened for all.
The festival would help tourism industry growing dramatically and sustainably, according to festival organisers. VNS
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