Visitors at Hung Kings' Temple Festival (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The increasing global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has forced the organisers of national and international cultural events and celebrations to change schedules, reduce scale or even cancel the events.
These events include the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival in the north, the 7th Vietnam-Japan friendship celebration in Hanoi, the Ngu Hanh Son- Quan The Am (Marble Mountains- Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) in the central region, and the Don ca tai tu (southern folk music) festival in the south.
The Hung Kings’ Temple Festival will be scaled down in the northern province of Phu Tho with a shortened and simplified programme due to fears of the epidemic spreading.
Director of the temple Le Truong Giang said the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the main organiser of the festival, has also agreed with the changes.
Giang said that this year all cultural activities in the framework of the festival will be halted to prevent people from gathering in large crowds, but spiritual ceremonies will still be held.
He added that organisers will set up booths to offer masks and sanitisers for visitors.
The Hung Kings Temple Festival was scheduled to be held on April 2. Each year, on average, the site welcomes about 6-7 million domestic and foreign visitors.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam-Japan Festival which was planned for March has been postponed to the end of the year, according to a report by the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Alliance.
Organisers said they would keep the scheduled programme and even expand the scale.
About 160 booths of both Vietnamese and Japanese goods will be set up at the event featuring the two countries’ traditions, cultures, tourism, sport, local handicrafts and other products and services.
The central city of Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son district authorities have also decided to postpone the Ngu Hanh Son- Quan The Am (Marble Mountains- Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Festival, one of the 15 biggest cultural events in the city.
The festival, which should have been taking place on March 3, has been postponed indefinitely.
In the south, Can Tho City has moved the Don ca tai tu Festival to October./.
VNA
