Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh attended the closing ceremony of the 2026 World Culture Festival in Hanoi.

With the theme "Convergence of Heritage - Shaping the Future," this year's festival attracted participation from 50 countries, with 45 cultural spaces, 19 international art troupes, 35 food stalls, and a program showcasing films from nearly 20 film industries. Over the four days of the festival, Thang Long Imperial Citadel became a vibrant meeting place where heritage, performing arts, cinema, fashion, cuisine, tourism, and creative forms all converged, interacted, and connected.

A prominent feature of this year's festival was its widespread public engagement. The parades on the pedestrian streets brought the diverse cultures of various countries closer to locals and tourists. The festival also showcased the unique cultural identities and values ​​of different nations, fostering encounters between artists, artisans, creators, and the public; contributing to increased understanding, friendship, and new connections through culture.

This year's festival is even more significant as it coincides with Vietnam's 50th anniversary of joining UNESCO, marking half a century of Vietnam's journey from a country emerging from war to an active, responsible member, increasingly proactively contributing initiatives to common issues of UNESCO and the international community.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Central Committee member and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh affirmed: For Vietnam, culture is both the spiritual foundation of society and a goal, driving force, and resource for national development. Preserving heritage is not just about safeguarding what belongs to the past, but about ensuring that heritage continues to live in contemporary life, continues to be created, generates new values, and is passed on to future generations.

"The success of the festival also shows that when heritage, art, film, fashion , cuisine, tourism, and creativity are placed in the same space, cultural values ​​are not only introduced and preserved but also have the potential to create new experiences, products, and values. This is also a concrete way to promote the role of the cultural industry, transforming creative capacity, identity, and cultural assets into endogenous strength, competitiveness, and national soft power," the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism emphasized.

The highlight of the Closing Ceremony was the artistic program consisting of two parts, "Colors Meet" and "Greetings from Vietnam," featuring international art troupes and many Vietnamese artists. Accordingly, the sounds and dances from Iran, the Russian Federation, Mexico, Myanmar, and Belgium, along with the youthful energy of Vietnamese artists in "Colors Meet," created a vibrant stage where differences in language and tradition met in a spirit of openness, respect, and sharing.

While "Greetings from Vietnam" takes audiences on an artistic journey from its roots, through its heritage regions, to contemporary Vietnam, traditional musical and artistic elements from various regions are showcased in a new performance space, presenting to international friends an image of a Vietnam rich in identity, dynamic, creative, open, and connected to the world.

On this occasion, the Organizing Committee also presented commemorative plaques to the international delegations participating in the festival.