Culture - Sports

Vo An Nguyen, who leads the committee and serves as CEO of Future Star World, called the pageant an international contest built around heritage, where beauty is measured alongside knowledge, community responsibility and the preservation of each country's cultural treasures.

Vietnam currently ranks 16th among the world's top 100 cuisines in the latest TasteAtlas rankings, up three places from 2024 and six from 2023. Meanwhile, Travel + Leisure has described Vietnamese cuisine as "exceptional" and listed Vietnam among the leading destinations for travellers seeking cultural experiences through food.

According to the organising committee, the four-day festival attracts nearly 1,000 martial artists from Vietnam and overseas, including 650 participants from domestic martial arts schools and clubs and 260 representatives from 16 delegations across nine countries, including Thailand and Laos.

Competitors will race in the 42.195 km marathon, 21.0975 km half marathon, 10 km and 5 km events. Starting and finishing at the Quang Ninh Planning, Fair and Exhibition Palace, the course will once again feature fully closed roads along Ha Long Bay, a route named by Runner's World UK among the world's 50 most scenic running courses.

According to the organising committee, throughout August, the Hue Sports Festival will feature 19 sporting events alongside other Autumn Festival activities.

Through these tiny pieces of paper, veteran philatelist Tran Huu Hue tells students about President Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam's national heroes, and places across the country and around the world.

Experts believe that with coordinated reforms in institutions, technology, human resources and infrastructure, Vietnam can transform its cultural heritage into a powerful engine for innovation, economic growth and national soft power in the new era.

From its origin as Saigon-Gia Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City absorbed successive waves of ethnic communities and external influences. Geography and diversity fused to produce a population known for generosity, openness, straightforwardness, solidarity, tolerance and compassion.

First staged at Venice's Teatro La Fenice in 1853, La Traviata was adapted from Alexandre Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camélias (Camille). More than 170 years on, it remains one of the most enduring works in the operatic repertoire and is regularly performed at leading theatres worldwide.

The “Chuyen Ha Noi – Mot ngay rat Ha Noi” (Hanoi stories – A truly Hanoi day) programme is scheduled to be staged regularly at 8 p.m. every Friday at the theatre, located at 31–33 Luong Van Can street, Hoan Kiem ward. It is expected to become one of the city’s signature cultural attractions for both domestic and international visitors.

Digitising Vietnam’s folk culture, including oral literature, beliefs, customs, festivals and art passed down through generations, has become an urgent lever for national cultural development in the new era.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long described Le Quy Don as one of Vietnam's most distinguished cultural figures of the 18th century. A celebrated scholar, poet, historian, thinker, educator and diplomat, Le Quy Don left behind an extensive body of work whose enduring value continues to enrich the nation's cultural, scientific and educational heritage.

Located in Thu Bon commune, Da Nang city, My Son is renowned for its architectural heritage, but it also preserves an exceptional archive engraved on stone. These inscriptions have enabled scholars to unravel the history of the sanctuary and trace the rise and development of the ancient Champa kingdom over many centuries.

Among its rich collections, the Vietnamese gallery at the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow stands out as a vivid testament to the country's history, culture and craftsmanship, helping promote Vietnam's cultural identity to Russian and international visitors.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Nguyen Hang Nga, Director of the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts, said the exhibition gives visitors deeper insight into cultural figure and scholar Le Quy Don's vast scholarly contributions through photographs, historical documents, woodblock reproductions, stone inscriptions, books and other valuable archival materials.

As Vietnam identifies cultural industries as a new driver of economic growth and national branding, AI is expected to play an increasingly important role in strengthening their competitiveness.

The implementation of Resolution No. 06 alongside the cultural diplomacy strategy sends a clear message: by combining its rich cultural heritage with proactive diplomacy, innovation and digital transformation, Vietnam would strengthen its competitiveness on the global stage.

Hue stood out for its imperial cuisine, a culinary tradition rooted in the city's history as the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty. Renowned for its refined flavours, meticulous preparation and artistic presentation, Hue's cuisine reflects centuries of royal and cultural traditions.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam has stressed the need to address bottlenecks hindering the transformation of culture into an endogenous resource, soft power and a driver of national development, as the appeal and reach of positive cultural values in the digital environment have yet to keep pace with the rapid growth of digital platforms and content.

Hanoi has recently launched a series of initiatives to realise its vision of becoming a "Civilised – Distinctive – Creative" capital, where culture and innovation serve as key growth engines. Among the most notable are the creative infrastructure development programme and the 2026 creative space design competition, which encourage architects, designers and creative communities to revitalise former industrial sites, relocated facilities, traditional craft villages, parks, squares and other public spaces through innovative yet practical design solutions.