“Homeland Spring” programme downsized due to COVID-19

Hanoi (VNA) – This year’s Homeland Spring, an annual programme held for overseas Vietnamese to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet), will feature only one show without audience due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to organisers.

The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (SCOV) under the Foreign Ministry said due to the pandemic’s complex developments, a large number of Vietnamese abroad are unable to return to the homeland to celebrate the annual most important festival.

Given this, the 2021 Homeland Spring programme will feature only one show broadcast live on VTV1 and VTV4 channels and the VTVgo and vtv.vn digital platforms of the Vietnam Television. It is scheduled to take place without audience at the Hanoi Opera House on February 4 evening.

The show will offer many special performances by famous artists both at home and aboard, praising the homeland and featuring the warm Tet atmosphere from across the country.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is set to deliver a speech extending Tet greetings to overseas Vietnamese at this event, the SCOV said.

Every year, the Homeland Spring programme is organised by the SCOV and relevant agencies ahead of Tet to provide Vietnamese expatriates a chance to join domestic compatriots in Tet celebrations. It also reflects the Party and State’s great attention to overseas Vietnamese affairs.

According to the SCOV, more than 5.3 million Vietnamese people are living in over 130 countries and territories, and their role, standing, and prestige in host countries have been increasingly improved.

In 2020, they donated 35 billion VND (1.5 million USD) in cash and medical supplies to the domestic COVID-19 fight, along with more than 40 billion VND and a large volume of goods to help people in central Vietnam address flooding consequences.

As of October last year, Vietnamese expatriates from 27 countries and territories had invested 1.6 billion USD in 362 projects in Vietnam. 

Despite impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, remittances into the country in 2020 were still high, about 15.7 billion USD, giving Vietnam the ninth position among the world’s largest remittance recipients as listed by the World Bank.

Many initiatives to connect overseas Vietnamese intellectuals in contributing to the homeland have also been proposed and carried out, the SCOV noted./.