The festival bring together more than 11,000 young people from the 11 regional countries and volunteers of SEA Games 31. (Photo: VNA) The Southeast Asian Youth Festival that took placearound Hoan Kiem Lake saw the participation of representatives from the embassies ofSoutheast Asian countries as well as Vietnamese ministries and agencies.
Notably, it brought together more than 11,000 youngpeople from the 11 regional countries, volunteers of SEA Games 31, which will be officially held in the capital city of Hanoi and 11 neighbouring cities and provinces from May12-23.
The festival was intended to promote the image ofHanoi and Vietnam to regional and international friends, thus contributing tobuilding regional peace, for a Southeast Asia of solidarity, friendship andprosperity.
Visitors joined a wide range of activities,including an exhibition on national flowers and dresses, cuisines and cultures of the countries, walking, painting, street arts and an art gala.
Sixteen cultural and art programmes will be held inHanoi’s districts from May 13 to 23 to celebrate the Games, praising the Party,late President Ho Chi Minh, the land and people of Vietnam and Hanoi.
The Ho Chi Minh CommunistYouth Union of Hanoi has also utilised social networks to promote the capital city’simage before, during and after the Games.
Hanoi has encouraged local businesses to joinefforts in product promotion, especially handicrafts and those that meet theOCOP (One Commune-One Product) standards, in line with regulations of theOrganising Committee of SEA Games 31.
Apart from tourism events, including the HanoiTourism Festival, the Tourism Gift Festival and the Hanoi Food and CraftVillage Tourism Festival, the city has decorated its streets and competitionvenues with banners and billboards to welcome the important regional sport event.
Hanoi has completed preparations for SEA Games 31and everything is in place for the region’s biggest sport event.
At the coming Games, Hanoi will host 18 sports at 16venues, including 12 venues managed by district-level authorities, three by themunicipal Department of Culture and Sports, one by a business, and four bycentral agencies.
The city aims to contribute 25-30 percent to themedal tally of the Vietnamese sports delegation.
The capital city will be hosting the opening andclosing ceremonies of SEA Games 31 as well as the competitions of many sports.
Featuring 40 sports, SEA Games 31 is expected toattract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated forlate 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.
The host Vietnam has registered 965 athletes,including 534 males and 431 females, who are set to compete at all the 40sports of the Games, striving to win 140 gold, 77 silver and 71 bronze medalsand secure the top place in the tally.
At the 30th SEA Games in 2019, the Vietnamese sportsdelegation finished second in the overall medal tally, with 98 golds, 85silvers and 105 bronzes, just behind the host Philippines./.
VNA
