Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – France is oneof the main partners of the Hue Festival, which is set to take place in thecentral province of Thua Thien-Hue from April 27 to May 2.

The festival, the 10th edition of its kind, isthemed “Cultural heritage with integration and development – Hue onedestination, five world heritages”, according to Vice Chairman of theprovincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung.

The French rock band Lysistrata and the Berywambeatbox/acapella team are expected to perform at the event while a cartoonexhibition of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region is hoped to amuse visitors.

The Hue Festival, previously known as theFrance-Vietnam art festival, was first held in 2000 by the French Embassy inVietnam and the ancient city of Hue, said Dung, who is also head of thefestival organising committee.

The event featured Vietnamese culture and Frenchcontemporary art. It looked to expand cultural exchanges between the twocountries in tandem with tourism development, he added.

The first Hue Festival attracted more than 30art troupes from Vietnam and France with some 1,000 professional and amateurartists as well as 410,000 visitors, including 6,000 foreigners.

Most recently, at the Hue Festival 2016, theL’Homme Debout art troupe from the Poitou Charentes region of France joinedVietnamese artists to create an art performance called Venus. 

In addition to boosting cooperation at the HueFestival, the two countries have stepped up collaboration in economy. ThePoitou Charentes region has sponsored more than 11 billion VND (483,450 USD) tohelp Thua Thien-Hue carry out an ecotourism project, Dung revealed.

The French region also funded 500 million VND tobuild houses at Thuong Nhat commune in the mountainous district of Nam Dong toserve accommodation for tourists.

Apart from France, the Hue Festival 2018 isexpected to draw 21 international art troupes from the Republic of Korea, theUK, Mongolia, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Belgium and China.

A wide range of activities will be held as partof the event including a Buddhism cultural programme, a national festival of“Hat Van” or “Chau Van” (a traditional art form that combines singing anddancing), a music show featuring songs of late musician Trinh Cong Son, ascientific festival, an international trade fair, a cuisine fair and a poemfestival.

Hue, whichwas the imperial capital of Vietnam for over 100 years, is home to fiveheritages recognised by UNESCO, namely the Hue ancient citadel relic complex –a World Cultural Heritage site; Nha Nhac (Hue royal court music)- an intangiblecultural heritage item; Nguyen Dynasty’s wood blocks – a documentary heritageitem; Nguyen Dynasty’s Chau ban (royal administrative documents) – part of theAsia-Pacific Register of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme; and literatureon Hue royal architecture - a documentary heritage.-VNA