Accordingly, four events were chosen from the field of culture, namely “Library Law – Motivation for library development and reading culture”, “The return of Swan Lake with Vietnamese artists’ influence after 35 years”; “Practices of Then by Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups in Viet Nam being added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”; and “Honoring 100 years of Cai Luong performance art”.
After 35 years, ballet Swan Lake by the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theater returned in October and turned the Vietnamese ballet scene to a new page. For the first time, ballet Swan Lake choreographed by a Vietnamese choreographer and performed by a Vietnamese crew obtained huge success on the Vietnamese stage with seven “sold out” nights at Hanoi Opera House.
At 03:23 PM on December 12 local time (3:23 AM on December 13, Hanoi time), at a meeting of the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage under the 2003 Convention held in Bogotá, capital of the Republic of Colombia, practices of Then by Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups in Viet Nam were officially added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The addition of the practices of Then by Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups in Viet Nam to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity once again affirmed the rich culture of the Vietnamese people and the Vietnamese social coherence, recognized the respect for cultural diversity, and encouraged dialogue between individuals, communities, and ethnic groups towards acceptance, love, and fraternity following the goals and objectives set out by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Then is an indispensable ritual practice in the spiritual life of the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups in Vietnam, reflecting the conception of man, the natural world, and the universe. Then ceremonies describe the journey of Then masters leading the army of spirit soldiers from the underworld to heaven to give offerings and pray for peace, cure of diseases, favorable weather, a blessed new year, and so on.
On January 13 & 14, 2019, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City held an event of “Honoring 100 years of formation and development of the Cai Luong performance art” on Nguyen Hue Walking Street. It was a magnificent show with the participation of 400 Cai Luong artists and eye-catching performances. The event honored 11 Cai Luong clans and 30 notable artists and artisans.
Three events were chosen from the field of sports: ”Vietnam athletes obtained exceptional achievements, ranked second out of the 11 countries participating in the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 30)”, “The impressive achievement of the soccer teams in Southeast Asia”, and “Vietnam officially became the 22nd country in the world to host Formula 1 (F1) race”.
2019 was the year of great success for Vietnamese soccer. The most interesting thing is that in 2019, the two national soccer teams won a total of 3 championships.
More specifically, the Vietnamese women’s team won two championships at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games Women’s Football Tournament and SEA Games 30 (gold medal). The third championship was the first SEA Games gold medal ever won by the Vietnamese men’s team at SEA Games 30.
At SEA Games 30, with a total of 288 medals (98 gold, 85 silver, and 105 bronze medals), Vietnamese athletes were ranked second. SEA Games 30 was a successful event when Vietnam surpassed Thailand in terms of achievements, including those in many Olympic sports such as athletics, swimming, soccer, wrestling, etc.
Three events were chosen from the field of tourism: “Vietnam set a record with over 18 million international visitors in 2019”, “Tourist destinations in Vietnam won the world and continental awards”, and “Vietnam successfully hosted the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2019”.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in 2019 was estimated at 18 million, an increase of 16.2% compared to 2018. In particular, arrivals by air reached 14.3 million, accounting for 79.8% of international arrivals to Vietnam, an increase of 15.2%; arrivals by road reached 3.36 million, accounting for 18.7% and increasing by 20.4%; and arrivals by sea reached 264 thousand, accounting for 1.5% and increasing by 22.7%. The total revenue from tourism in 2019 reached VND 726 trillion, up 17.1% over the same period of 2018.
The events were voted from a total of 39 nominations proposed by the agencies and units under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and the departments of culture, sports and tourism; department of culture and sports; department of tourism; and department of culture, information, sports, and tourism of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government, in which the field of culture had 21 nominations, sports had 11 nominations, and tourism had 7 nominations.
From those nominated, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism gathered opinions and consulted with experts to select 15 notable events for voting in two forms: on http://sukienvhttdl.bvhttdl.gov.vn (from January 2 to January 6, 2020) by readers nationwide; and direct voting on January 3, 2020, at the head office of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism by representatives of central and Hanoi press agencies.
V.H