On June 20, information from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An said that the Nghe An Traditional Arts Center has just issued the regulations for the "Searching for Folk Songs of Vi, Giam Nghe Tinh" contest in 2026.
The contest is organized by the Nghe An Traditional Arts Center in coordination with Nghe An Newspaper and Radio and Television, aiming to preserve and promote the value of the intangible cultural heritage of Vi and Giam folk songs of Nghe Tinh; and at the same time search for and discover good voices, young talents and passions for Vi and Giam folk songs.
Through the contest, the organizers wish to introduce the cultural identity of Nghe An, promote the image of the homeland, country, and people of Nghe An to the general public; create a healthy playground for those who love Vi and Giam folk songs, especially the younger generation.
According to regulations, the participants are citizens with Vietnamese nationality, overseas Vietnamese or foreigners who are passionate and talented in singing Vi and Giam folk songs, aged 6 to 35 years old.
Candidates and groups of candidates submit registration dossiers including exam registration forms, photocopies of citizen identification cards or copies, photos of birth certificates for cases without citizen identification cards, and 1 video clip recording vocals. The required exam video is a raw file, without editing or staging.
Contest applications are accepted until 5:00 PM on July 20, 2026. Candidates can send via program email, send directly to Nghe An Traditional Arts Center at No. 30 Nguyen Sy Sach Street, Thanh Vinh Ward, Nghe An Province or Nghe An Newspaper and Radio, Television at No. 1 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Thanh Vinh Ward, Nghe An Province.
The contest content focuses on topics praising the Party, Uncle Ho, revolutionary historical traditions; love for homeland, country, culture and people of Nghe region; the development of homeland and country in the cause of renovation, construction and defense of the Fatherland.
Contestants use folk songs of Nghe region, original melodies or adapted melodies to perform. The Organizing Committee prioritizes adding points for works using original folk melodies. Contest forms include solo singing, duet, collective performance; encouraged to have dance performances, accompanying performances.
The contest is organized in 3 rounds. The preliminary round takes place from July 24 to 26, 2026. Based on the quality of the sent videos, the judges will select 30 contestants, groups of excellent contestants to enter the final round.
The final round is expected to take place in 3 days, from August 8 to 10, 2026, at the Nghe An Traditional Arts Center. Contestants and groups of contestants who pass this round will participate in training and teaching classes directly guided by experienced artists of Vi and Giam folk songs.
In the final round, each contestant or contestant group performs a performance with a duration of no more than 6 minutes. The judges will select 12 contestants and contestant groups to enter the final round.
The final round and award ceremony are expected to be held on August 14 or 15, 2026, at Studio S1, Nghe An Newspaper and Radio, Television. The program is broadcast live on digital platforms.
The prize structure includes 2 A prizes, 4 B prizes, 6 C prizes and 2 sub-prizes. Prize A has gifts and cash prizes worth 20 million VND; prize B is worth 10 million VND; prize C is worth 5 million VND. Two sub-prizes include prizes for contestants, groups of contestants with the most votes and prizes for contestants, groups of promising young contestants.
According to the organizers, entries must not have copyright disputes, including copyrights on social media platforms. Contestants and groups of contestants are responsible for the copyright of the works according to the provisions of law.
