Cultural Festival for Peace to promote Hanoi as a peaceful destination

The "Cultural Festival for Peace" program will kick off on October 6 at Hoan Kiem Lake, the cultural and historical symbol of the capital, to honor Hanoi's historical traditions and promote the image of a peace-loving capital to all people and tourists.

It is a key event in a series of unique cultural activities led by the Hanoi City Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee.

The program includes exhibition, art performance and showcase of craft village's products. Photo: Phuong Anh/The Hanoi Times

The program honors the historical value of the Capital Liberation Day, while looking back at 25 years of Hanoi's UNESCO "City for Peace" designation, affirming the city's continuous efforts to preserve and promote cultural and historical values while building an increasingly civilized, modern and internationally integrated capital.

The program will run from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on October 6 in the Hoan Kiem Lake area, beginning with an incense offering ceremony at the Ly Thai To King Monument to commemorate the contributions of predecessors who made great contributions to the liberation and construction of the capital. This will be followed by a special flag-raising ceremony, reenacting the first flag-raising ceremony in Hanoi on October 10, 1954, after the liberation of the capital.

In this solemn atmosphere, some 10,000 delegates will sing the national anthem, creating a particularly sacred moment that expresses national pride and the desire for peace.

One of the major highlights of the program is the vivid re-enactment of the image of the army marching on Hanoi at the historic moment of October 10, 1954, when the Vietnamese army took over the capital, marking the end of colonial rule. This heroic moment will be recreated through large-scale live performances, with the participation of nearly 1,000 soldiers and 200 artists and dancers.

Audiences will experience intense emotions as well-known scenes such as the army marching across Long Bien Bridge to take control of the city, or the red flag with a yellow star waving on top of the Hanoi Flag Tower at the first flag-raising ceremony on October 10, 1954, are realistically recreated on stage.

Various cultural activities will take place to promote Hanoi culture. Photo: Phuong Anh/The Hanoi Times

"Cultural Festival for Peace" will also facilitate exchanges between craftsmen, artists and people representing 30 districts, towns and cities of the capital. More than 8,000 people, including 5,000 citizens and representatives of forces from districts and towns, will take part in parades, performing folk art forms, including intangible cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO and the nation, along with the unique traditional cultural beauty of the capital.

The program will showcase culinary culture and traditional village handicrafts. These products not only reflect the ingenuity and creativity of Hanoi people, but also demonstrate the uniqueness and richness of Vietnamese culture.

The Culture for Peace Festival is divided into three main parts.

Part I, titled Hanoi Memories, will recreate historical moments of Hanoi through artistic performances, especially the event of the victorious army taking over the capital on October 10, 1954. Famous songs such as Nguoi Ha Noi (Hanoi People) by musician Nguyen Dinh Thi and Tien ve Ha Noi (Forward to Hanoi) by musician Van Cao will resound, recalling the intense emotions of the capital's people during those historic October days.

Part II, entitled Heritage Flow, will showcase the capital's cultural heritage, including intangible cultural heritage performances and folk art forms.  

Part III, titled Hanoi: City for Peace, Creative City, will continue to present Hanoi's evolution from a war-torn city to a City for Peace with a strong, modern vitality. The program will conclude with a grand parade featuring representatives from the capital's districts, cities and people, creating a vivid picture of a culturally diverse Hanoi.