Red all around: The annual Red Flamboyant Festival is named after the symbolic flower of Hải Phòng, and aims to promote the city’s image among Vietnamese and foreign tourists. The fifth festival will take place from May 6 to 8 this year with numerous cultural activities. Photo vietnamplus.vn

HẢI PHÒNG – The fifth Red Flamboyant Festival will take place from May 6 to 8 in Hải Phòng, the port city’s authorities announced at a press conference yesterday.

The festival, under the theme “Hải Phòng – Expanding the Friendship Circle”, will commence at 8pm on May 6 at the Opera Square.

It aims to introduce the city’s economic and social achievements to Vietnamese and foreign tourists, as well as boost its tourism potential, according to Đoàn Duy Linh, director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The highlight of the festival will be the artistic performances, with creative lighting and sound effects, which will be presented by nine art groups from nearby provinces and cities and four foreign art groups from South Korea, China, Laos and Thailand.

The performances will recreate the major cultural, tourism and artistic values of Hải Phòng.

Some 70 events and cultural activities will take place as part of the festival until May 24, such as a dove release ceremony, an orchid exhibition, street music performances and a golf tournament.

During the opening ceremony, a state certificate to recognise an annual festival, which commemorates General Lê Chân, a heroine in the uprising against the East Han (Chinese) domination in 40AD as an intangible historical heritage will be presented.

Another certificate to recognise Hải Phòng’s Opera House as a national architectural heritage will also be awarded to the city.

These two icons stand amongst several outstanding tourism attractions in the city, according to Nguyễn Xuân Bình, deputy director of the Hải Phòng People’s Committee. – VNS