Ho Chi Minh City Youth Festival 2024 opens jubilantly

Tiết mục điệu múa Nhật Bản - Ảnh: PHƯƠNG QUYÊN — Japanese dance performance - Photo: PHUONG QUYEN

Lighting the torch to open the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Festival (Youth Fest) 2024 were Secretary of the Central Youth Union Nguyen Pham Duy Trang, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Phuoc Loc, and Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan.

There were also youth delegates from the capital Vientiane and the two provinces of Champasak and Attapeu (Laos); the International Student Volunteer Organization YSS (Malaysia) and the Committee for Youth Policy and Cooperation with NGOs of Saint Petersburg city (Russian Federation).

Lively street art performances

With the theme "New Generation - Adaptation - Connection and Sharing", the festival opens with a traditional torch lighting and brilliant fireworks, and will take place over three days (March 22 to 24).

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan said this is the first time the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Festival has been organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, assigned to the City Youth Union, the Vietnam Youth Union and the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Student Association.

City leaders expect the Youth Festival to become a colorful and meaningful space where young people and students can demonstrate their talents, creativity and solidarity.

Mr. Hoan hopes that the festival will convey the message of love for the city associated with the campaign "HCMC - The City I Love" launched by the City Youth Union, arousing the spirit of social responsibility and civic awareness among young people.

"We hope the Youth Festival will become a model for gathering young people in the new situation, an anticipated event, attracting the participation of the community inside and outside the city.

The festival will not only be an occasion to honor the good values of youth, but also a positive driving force to promote the city's development," said Mr. Hoan.

Các vị lãnh đạo, nguyên lãnh đạo cùng thắp đuốc khai mạc Lễ hội thanh niên TP.HCM 2024 - Ảnh: PHƯƠNG QUYÊN — Leaders and former leaders lit the torch to open the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Youth Festival - Photo: PHUONG QUYEN

After the opening ceremony, Pham Ngoc Thach Street was filled with a street festival atmosphere with art performances and dances from ASEAN countries. This year’s Youth Fest has a special mark of international integration spirit.

The exhibition space at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House also features images of volunteer activities from countries that have participated in Vietnam, including Cambodia, France, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the UK and the US.

Tiết mục nhảy thanh niên thế hệ mới - Ảnh: PHƯƠNG QUYÊN — New generation youth dance performance - Photo: PHUONG QUYEN

Activities of Youth Festival 2024

Within the framework of the festival, on the evening of March 23, there will be a program responding to the Earth Hour 2024 campaign from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There will also be a sponsorship ceremony for young talents in 2024, performances by famous artists and singers, and street music exchanges.

The art program "New Generation - Adaptation - Connection and Sharing" closing the festival started at 7:00 p.m. on March 24 with performances and exchanges from domestic and international music groups.

In addition, there will be performances, exchanges and honors of famous singers and artists. Closing ceremony and announcement of the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Youth Festival "Welcome to the city 50 years".

Throughout the festival, there are many contents and spaces: Light Route, Youth Culture and International Exchange, Youth Arts - Creativity, Music - Connection, Culinary Culture, Reading Culture...

Young people can also watch historical and traditional movies and there are also Dao movies, pho and piano served for free.

There are also new generation technology experience spaces, sharing - connecting and seminars, sharing topics on culture, skills, new technology trends and experiences of experts in selectively applying technology to life.