Attending the event were Mr. Mai Van Chinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Pham Tat Thang - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission; Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Commission... and delegates from central departments, ministries, branches, and organizations; representatives of a number of provinces and cities; ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions, and international organizations.
Heritage - Connection - Times: Towards the Capitals cultural industry
With the theme "Heritage - Connection - Times", this year's Festival revealed the orientation to make heritage a foundation for the creativity and development of the capital's culture in the new period.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ms. Vu Thu Ha - Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee emphasized: "The first Thang Long - Hanoi Festival in 2025 is a large-scale cultural and artistic event held at Thang Long Imperial Citadel.
This is a festival of heritage, with open creative space, traditional cultural values connected with the spirit of the digital age, where folk artisans meet young artists and creators to renew and enrich the cultural identity of Vietnam in the integration era".
The first Thang Long - Hanoi Festival in 2025 will take place from November 1 to November 16 with more than 30 unique cultural, artistic and tourism activities. The event brings together more than 500 domestic and international artists, actors and 200 outstanding artisans.
Outstanding activities within the framework of the Festival include street festivals, traditional and contemporary art performances, heritage exhibitions, Ao Dai festivals, handicraft performances, thematic seminars...
In addition, the creative business connection program will be held at many typical cultural spaces of the capital such as Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hoan Kiem Lake Walking Street, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi Museum.
The activities are designed to link community memories with contemporary creative ideas, thereby emphasizing the role of heritage in developing the cultural industry and contributing to making Hanoi develop worthy of the title of "Creative City" of UNESCO.
Colors of the opening ceremony of Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025
The opening program is divided into three chapters with a linear structure, leading viewers from the depth of history to the aspiration for modern creativity. Each chapter exploits an aspect of the common theme, thereby expressing the connection between tradition and the present.
The first part of the program recreates the core values of Vietnamese culture and the development journey of the land of Thang Long - Hanoi. Many typical folk art forms such as Xam, Cheo, Areca, Hanh Thu, along with Hue Hanh Thu and Muon cup will be performed, to depict the Northern cultural source associated with the history of Thang Long.
The second part carries the message "Connecting", expressing the intersection between cultural regions, especially the three ancient capitals and many typical cultural spaces of Vietnam. Here, folk art is expressed through the language of stage, sound and modern light, creating a combination of heritage and technology.
The end is towards the future, with a message about The Times - where technology is used as a tool to preserve and promote cultural values. The key question is how Hanoi preserves, exploits and develops heritage in the process of building a cultural industry.
The opening ceremony gathered many famous artists such as People's Artist Thu Huyen, Meritorious Artist Dieu Hang, Meritorious Artist Van Ty, Meritorious Artist Nhu Huynh, Trong Tan, Tung Duong... bringing performances combining folk and contemporary music.
In addition, the program gathered nearly 1,000 actors and artisans, including professional artists such as Thang Long puppetry Theater and Hanoi Cheo Theater. Many folk performances and traditional festivals such as "Dragon Pancing Dance", "Con Di Be Cong", "Khe Co Xua Co"... evoke the atmosphere of the ancient village festival in the Imperial Citadel space.
In particular, the sound and lighting system applies many modern stage technologies, 360-degree space to bring the audience a complete visual and emotional experience, contributing to the vivid recreation of the cultural identity of Thang Long - Hanoi in the breath of the new era.
