On the evening of October 20, at the Bac Ninh Provincial Cultural - Exhibition Center, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province to organize the opening ceremony of the 2025 National Cheo Festival.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) Ta Quang Dong, Head of the Festival Steering Committee, delivered the opening speech, emphasizing: Ceo is a traditional folk stage art form with a history of thousands of years, deeply associated with the spiritual life of the people of the Northern Delta. Through many historical ups and downs, Cheo art still retains its unique features, deeply reflecting the soul, personality and aspiration for feet - story - beauty of the Vietnamese people".
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong affirmed that the National Cheo Festival is a periodic professional art activity organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to evaluate artistic creation, performance, preservation and promotion of the value of Cheo art in the current period.
This is also an opportunity for art units to meet, exchange experiences, learn from them, thereby improving professional quality and bringing Cheo art closer to the public.
This year's festival took place in Bac Ninh, a land of ancient temples, rich in cultural and revolutionary traditions, and the cradle of many traditional arts.
In addition, this is also the first professional cultural - performing arts event organized in the context of the whole country implementing the 2-level local government model, demonstrating the spirit of innovation and adaptation of the cultural sector.
Currently, the arrangement and reorganization of public art units is being implemented according to the policy of the Party and State to build a streamlined, professional and sustainable art scene.
However, the big challenge is how to innovate without losing identity, so that artists can confidently contribute and let traditional art continue to live in the hearts of the younger generation.
The Party and State always affirm the viewpoint of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, including Cheo art.
The Politburo and the Government are assigning the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to preside over and advise on the development of a thematic Resolution on the development of Vietnamese culture in the new period.
This is a milestone of strategic significance, demonstrating the deep and consistent concern of the Party and State for the cause of cultural development - considering culture as the spiritual foundation of society, an important endogenous driving force for sustainable development of the country.
The development of this thematic Resolution not only aims to re-position the role of culture in the overall national development, but also opens up specific mechanisms and policies to support, preserve and promote traditional cultural values, including Cheo art and other forms of national theater art, so that culture truly becomes a soft power, spreading in social life and the soul of Vietnamese people.
The festival brings together 12 artistic units with 21 plays and nearly 900 artists and actors from many provinces and cities across the country to participate. This is an opportunity for units to exchange, learn, improve professional quality and bring Cheo art closer to the public.
The festival takes place from October 20 to November 2. At the end of the Festival, the organizing committee will award Gold Medals and Silver Medals to outstanding plays and individuals; at the same time, awarding outstanding prizes to authors, directors, musicians, painters, and choreographers who have made many contributions to the entries.
The Festival's art council includes: Screenwriter Chu Van Thom; People's Artist Tran Quoc Chiem; People's Artist Hoang Quoc Anh; People's Artist, Colonel Nguyen Quoc Truong; People's Artist Vu Ngoc Cai; People's Artist Do Doan Bang; People's Artist Nguyen Khac Tu.
