Hue Festival 2026 kicks off

Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre Hoang Viet Trung said the year-long event will continue to affirm the city's position as Vietnam’s festival hub and distinctive heritage city, with nearly 80 cultural, artistic, sports and international exchange activities and programmes taking place throughout 2026.

According to him, the Hue Festival 2026 holds special significance as the city is boosting development based on the preservation and promotion of imperial heritage values, safeguarding cultural identity, and moving towards the status of a heritage ecological landscape, environmentally friendly and smart city.

The festival will be organised under a four-season model. Its spring festival will last through the first three months of the year, featuring reenactments of royal rituals and traditional folk festivals.

The summer festival from April to June will feature the Hue Festival Week 2026 with a theme of cultural heritage, integration and development. This peak series of events are set to gather domestic and international art troupes, combining performances in restored heritage spaces and promising fresh and emotionally rich experiences for the public. The autumn festival from July to September will include Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, the Hue Lantern Festival 2026, and programmes such as exhibitions, installations, lantern parades, lion dances and art performances.

The winter festival will round off the Hue Festival with new festive activities like music shows and a New Year countdown to create a lively and warm atmosphere during the cold season. In addition to the main programmes, there will be other festivals, competitions, as well as displays and exhibitions organised by domestic and international organisations and individuals.

The Nguyen Dynasty (1802 1945)’s Ban Soc ceremony reenacted at the event in Hue on January 1, 2026, marking the opening event of the Hue Festival series. (Photo: VNA)

At the ceremony, the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre reenacted the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 1945)’s Ban Soc ceremony in a staged format, marking the opening event of the Hue Festival series. Ban Soc was the dynasty’s imperial calendar-announcing ceremony, held annually at the end of a lunar year to distribute the calendar to the royal family, court officials and the public.