The festival is organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, chaired by the Department of Tourism in coordination with the Department of Culture and Sports and other implementing units. The festival will take place from August 4 to 6 at the following locations: Saigon Port (District 4), cruise ship passenger port, Bach Dang wharf park (District 1), Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal area, Binh Dong wharf (District 8), Suoi Tien cultural tourism area (Thu Duc City) and other tourist areas and destinations in Thu Duc City and districts of Ho Chi Minh City.

The first Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is a series of unique cultural, entertainment and artistic activities taking place along the Saigon River, combined with experiential activities, shopping promotion programs, ticket discounts for art performances and a variety of response activities. According to Ms. Nguyen Cam Tu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center, there will be 10 typical activity clusters in the festival to promote the image, land, people, cultural identity, tourism activities and typical cuisine of Ho Chi Minh City. The most special of which is the large-scale live show on the Saigon River with the theme "Saigon - The River Tells Stories". The organizing committee will open the free ticket registration portal from July 20 for the public.

Representative of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism introduced the first river festival.

The show “Saigon-The River Tells Stories” is the first live performance program of Ho Chi Minh City and is a live performance program that recreates the formation of nature and people through the development periods of Gia Dinh-Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City. The program will combine art forms from folk to contemporary, music, dance, light, cinema with bold cultural and artistic colors, entertainment combined with modern performance technology.

Ms. Le Hai Yen, general director of the show "Saigon - The River Tells Stories" said: "The show will have 5 art chapters including: Reclaiming the wilderness, opening up the land, on the wharf, under the boat, the pearl of the far east, the brilliant city by the river, with the participation of nearly 700 actors and folk artists. The most unique point of the show is that it takes place on a real river, real port, real boats, real setting and real people, real stories to create genuine emotions for the audience."

Introducing the large-scale reality show “Saigon - The River Tells Stories” in the river festival.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism emphasized: The first Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is a dedicated event of the tourism industry and related units to create unique products associated with the identity and river resources of the city. Thereby, helping to position the brand of a river city rich in identity of Ho Chi Minh City. The effectiveness of the festival will spread pride and love for the City named after Uncle Ho, contributing to inspiring domestic and international tourists to explore the city's tourist destinations.

News and photos: HONG GIANG