Fireworks, martial arts, and traditional music performances will be the highlights of a three-day festival to be held in Hanoi from October 9-11.

The festival, which will kick off a slew of events to celebrate the 55 th anniversary of Hanoi’s liberation from the French, October 10, 1954, and the capital’s 1000 th birthday next year, will also feature traditional cuisine and garments, craft festivals, city tours by electric car, and tours to famous centres of Buddhism and ancient capitals like Phu Tho, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

In the same vein, an international Hanoi fair (Hanoi Expo 2009) will take place from October 8-13 to display socio-economic achievements of the capital and promote economic cooperation and investment among domestic and foreign businesses.

The event is part of preparations for a bigger fair in 2010, the municipal Industry-Trade Service told media on October 1.

The Hanoi Expo 2009 will be held on an area of 20,000 sq.m at the Vietnam Fair and Exhibition Centre with 550 booths of almost 300 domestic and foreign organisations and businesses in industry, agriculture, construction, trade, science-technology and services./.