Cultural spaces featuring Laos, Cuba, Belgium and other countries offer visitors a chance to explore traditional crafts, food, costumes, architecture and performing arts. Visitors can also join international cooking workshops, try traditional costumes and enjoy performances by Vietnamese and international artists.

The festival also serves as a platform for artists, young people and cultural representatives from different countries to meet, exchange experience and learn from one another. Representatives from Laos, China and Belgium highlighted the role of cultural exchange in fostering mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation.

Li Tiansheng, head of the External Relations Office of the Guangxi Arts University and head of the Guangxi (China) art troupe, said he was honoured to represent China at the festival, which provided an opportunity for young people and artists from different countries to meet, interact and learn from one another.

Nguyen Phuong Hoa, Director of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and standing deputy head of the festival’s organising committee, said the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of Vietnam joining UNESCO (1976-2026).

She said the festival marks an opening activity for the International Decade of Culture for Sustainable Development 2027-2036, an initiative proposed by Vietnam and recently adopted by the UN General Assembly. The event is expected to create new opportunities for cultural dialogue, cooperation and creative initiatives.

This year’s festival extends beyond the Thang Long Imperial Citadel to the Hoan Kiem walking street and the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, featuring parades, traditional costume showcases and cultural exchange programmes.

Through diverse cultural experiences, the festival highlights culture as a bridge connecting people, promoting mutual understanding and supporting international cooperation and sustainable development./.