Vietnam's biennial Hue Festival 2014 kicked off in the central city of Hue on the evening of April 12. The celebration will run until April 20. Over 97,000 tourists came to the central province of Thua Thien-Hue for the festival, 48 percent of them foreigners.

  The opening ceremony showcased a mix of colourful music, song and dance performances. The presentations laid out for the celebration is a collaboration of nearly 600 artists from 43 international art troupes from five continents, along with more than 800 local artists.

  Apart from the International performances, Vietnamese folk songs and amateur singing, an international kite festival was also held, attracting many artisans from all three regions of Vietnam, all impressed the huge crowd attending the ceremony.

  Among the key events during the entire festival includes the “Imperial Night” spectacles held on on April 15th and another on April 19th, both with royal banquets. The “Ao dai” Grand Shows at 20:00 of April 14th and 17th are among the major highlights and most looked after events. There would also be an exclusive spectacle honoring Hue folk music at 20:00 of April 16th, 2014. Additionally, the “Oriental Night” costume shows on April 13th, 15th, 16th and 18th, 2014 is a great opportunity to showcase to the many visitors the beauty and culture of the country. There would also be a Lighting of the Truong Tien Bridge with fire installation by Carabosse Company (France) on April 18th and 20th, 2014. Ebery afternoon during the festival, there would also be street performances themed “Heritages and Cultural Colours” by art troupes from East Asia and Latin America.

    With the celebration’s theme of “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”, the festival is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ East Asian-Latin American cultural exchange. Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed the Vietnamese culture plays a pivotal role in bolstering socio-economic development and the impetus for projecting the country towards a more democratic and civilized society. On the same speech, he highlighted the invaluable contributions the cultural heritages of Hue city have made to socio economic development, as a feature attraction drawing millions from around the world to the region annually.

  Hue city was made a UNESCO cultural heritage site in 1993 and its Royal Refined Music as a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003.