According to Phan Tien Dung, the director of the Thua Thien Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, between April 7 and 15 of 2012, the Hue Festival 2012 will take place in Hue. Its theme will be "Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development - The Rendezvous for Historical Cities," and the event will be directed by the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Hue Festival 2012 will act as a platform for the cultural exchange initiative of the Forum of East Asia and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

 

Particularly, the 13th World Conference on Historical Cities, with representatives for 80 cities from 55 nations all over the world, will be convened for three days in association with the Hue Festival 2012.

 

The Hue Festival 2012 will be a landmark event in the National Tourism Year of the central coastal part of the country, which will coincide with the festival and be headlined by national heritage tours. 

 

These tours are set up in the memory of Prince Nguyen Phuc Thai's decision to name Phu Xuan the capital of the central coastal part of the country; later on, Phu Xuan became the Tay Son Dynasty’s capital. In 1802, Nguyen Anh, a successor of the Nguyen lords, recaptured Phu Xuan and rebuilt the citadel entirely, making it the center of the Nguyen Dynasty's capital city of Hue.

 

The festival will showcase distinctive art forms from all parts of the country, especially the royal art forms from the city of Hue, and the performances of more than 30 art troupes from different countries and territories. These troupes will perform selected forms of art, especially oral forms popular in historical cities.

 

Artists from France, Belgium, Poland, the UK, Romania, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Israel, India, the US, Mexico, Panama, Senegal, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Switzerland, Germany, Mongolia, South Africa and Vietnam, will offer excellent performances every night of the festival in the Royal Palace, the An Dinh Palace, and the Ngo Mon Square.

 

During the nine-day festival, there will be a number of other key events, including the Opening Ceremony on April 7, the Imperial Night on April 10 and 13, Nam Giao Offering Ritual on April 8th, the Ao Dai (Long Dress) Grand Show on April 9, and the Oriental Night every night during the festival except for April 7, 9 and 15.

 

The "Vietnamese Pride" percussion instruments performances, carnivals, Vietnamese historical movies, and lantern shows will also add to the festive atmosphere and offer an outlet for people's pleasure and excitement.

 

The Hue Festival 2012 is considered an ideal opportunity to promote Hue as a city of festival, heritage and culture, and a unique tourist destination in Vietnam./.