Canberra (VNA) – The 2026 Vietnamese Lantern and Floating Lantern Festival in Darwin, Australia, drew nearly 5,000 local residents and visitors on September 5, offering a vibrant celebration of Vietnamese culture through colourful lanterns, paper boats, traditional games, folk art, performances and cuisine.
The event transformed Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory, into a colourful cultural space featuring traditional Vietnamese lanterns, monkey bridges, coconut-leaf toys and a range of artistic and culinary experiences.
First organised in 2022 by the Australian Vietnamese Family Association (AVFA) as a community event attracting around 800 participants, the festival has gradually grown into an annual cultural highlight that draws increasing interest from local residents.
This year’s festival showcased the waterways, boats and monkey bridges of the Mekong Delta, along with handicrafts made from coconut leaves, bringing the distinctive character of Vietnam’s southern region to life through decorations, interactive activities and artistic performances.
For members of the Vietnamese community in Darwin, the festival provided an opportunity to reconnect with memories of their homeland. For children born and raised in Australia, it offered a lively and engaging way to discover and experience Vietnamese culture.
Among those attending were Vietnamese Consul General in Perth Pham Hai Anh, Northern Territory Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Marie-Clare Boothby, Minister for Multicultural Affairs Jinson Charls, Minister for Trade, Business and Asian Relations Robyn Cahill, as well as federal and territory parliamentarians and the Lord Mayor of Darwin.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Consul General Pham Hai Anh congratulated the AVFA and the Vietnamese community in Australia on the festival's five-year journey and recognised the contributions of organisers, volunteers and the wider community to maintaining and developing the event.
He noted that from its modest beginnings, the Vietnamese Lantern and Floating Lantern Festival has grown into a popular community cultural event in Darwin and was named the city's “Community event of the year” in 2024.
Beyond preserving Vietnamese cultural identity and strengthening bonds within the Vietnamese community, the festival has become a cultural bridge between Vietnam and Australia, helping local people gain a deeper understanding of Vietnam and its people while promoting people-to-people exchanges and friendship between the two countries.
Festival-goers enjoyed artistic performances and traditional Vietnamese cuisine, joined family activities, tried on Vietnamese traditional costumes, and released floating lanterns onto the water. A spectacular fireworks display brought the celebrations to a close.
After five editions, the Vietnamese Lantern and Floating Lantern Festival continues to attract growing interest from local residents and visitors, contributing to the promotion of Vietnamese culture, stronger people-to-people exchanges and the enrichment of the multicultural life of Darwin and Australia as a whole./.
