The two-day 20th World Police Band Concert featuring police bands from Japan, the US, Singapore and Viet Nam will kick off in HCM City today. — Photo vnexpress.net

HCM CITY (VNS)— The two-day 20th World Police Band Concert featuring police bands from Japan, the US, Singapore and Viet Nam will kick off in HCM City today.

The festival opens with a parade of the bands in the city's downtown at 8am today. They depart from the HCM City Opera House and travel through Dong Khoi, Ton Duc Thang and Nguyen Hue streets.

The featured activity include a concert at Hoa Binh Theatre in District 10, beginning at 2.30pm tomorrow, where the bands will play classical and contemporary music.

The festival, held for the second time in Viet Nam, is jointly organised by the Japanese Mainichi newspaper and the Viet Nam Ministry of Public Security. The first time was held in Ha Noi in 2011.

The organisers said the festival aimed to develop a solid relationship among police communities in the world, as well as introduce the beauty of Viet Nam to the world.

Begun in 1996, the annual festival has been held in countries and territories including the US, the UK, Netherlands, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Spain and Singapore. — VNS