Recreating the soul of Hanoi at the first world cultural festival

48 embassies and international organizations registered to attend the " World Cultural Festival in Hanoi"

On the afternoon of September 26, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hanoi People's Committee to hold a press conference on the program "World Cultural Festival in Hanoi", held for the first time in Vietnam.

The program "World Cultural Festival in Hanoi" is a series of events including: Hanoi World Cultural Festival, Hanoi International Cuisine Program, film screening program, Hanoi International Folk Dance Program, Hanoi International Fine Arts Program, Hanoi International Costume Program/Ao Dai Festival, Hanoi International Book Festival and related supporting activities.

The first World Cultural Festival in Hanoi took place from October 3-5. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM

As of September 25, 48 embassies, international organizations, and foreign cultural centers in Vietnam have registered to participate in the program, including 45 national cultural spaces, 33 food stalls, 16 international art troupes from within and outside the country, 12 units participating in book introductions, 20 countries sending films to participate in the film screening program...

At this event, in the space of the World Heritage site of Thang Long Imperial Citadel, cultures from all 5 continents in the world converged to introduce the cultural quintessence of their people.

Recreating Hanoi culture

Responding to the press's question about what culture the host Vietnam will perform and introduce to "treat" international friends, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh expressed: "We have great concern about which art or culture form to choose to present in the 'World Cultural Festival in Hanoi'. As media people associated with public opinion, we all understand that choosing this form, but not the other, creates a big question mark.

In particular, we have just had a successful exhibition about the journey of 80 years of independence, freedom, and happiness, displaying almost all the best and most beautiful things about our country's history and culture. Therefore, this time, the Vietnamese cultural space will be represented by Hanoi. It is known that Hanoi has prepared a number of unique features, which we can call the soul of national culture, the soul of the thousand-year-old cultural capital. Hopefully, viewers will admire and support this choice."

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh hopes that the essence of Vietnamese culture will be fully recreated at the festival. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF CULTURE, Sports and Tourism

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh, the successful organization of the first "World Cultural Festival in Hanoi" will become a premise for the event to take place annually in the following years. Because, with the diverse culture and strong national identity of Vietnam, a festival is probably not enough to fully convey the message.

"After the first festival, we will have many more festivals until we can fully introduce the most unique features of Vietnamese culture. It is expected that this foreign cultural event will be held annually, as a document of the capital Hanoi, of Vietnamese culture," said Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh.

"With an open spirit, host Vietnam will let countries choose to perform and promote what their country likes and is most proud of," Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh added. However, according to Mr. Le Hai Binh, unfortunately, due to the short preparation time, international delegations have not been able to invite famous singers and artists to participate in the festival.

However, the event is still a much-awaited cultural festival, where the beauty of cuisine, costumes, cinema... of the countries will be displayed under the light of a large-scale exhibition at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, one of the places that marks the soul of Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tai-hien-hon-cot-ha-noi-tai-le-hoi-van-hoa-the-gioi-lan-thu-nhat-185250926163319241.htm