The province has signed cooperation agreements with five main sponsors for the festival, namely Acecook Viet Nam Joint Stock Company, Carlsberg Viet Nam Trading Co., Ltd., the Viet Nam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development’s branch in Thua Thien-Hue, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and aviation firm Jetstar Pacific Airlines, with total funding of more than 21.3 billion VND (936,135 USD). 

Director General of Acecook Viet Nam Kajiwwara Junichi said this is the first time his company has joined the festival. It hopes to help international friends access the unique and diverse gastronomy of Viet Nam through the festival.

Within the framework of the festival, Carlsberg will hold a beer festival offering local and foreign beers. 

Themed “Cultural heritage with integration and development – Hue one destination, five world heritages”, the Hue Festival 2018 is expected to draw international art troupes from France,  the Republic of Korea, the UK, Mongolia, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Belgium and China. 

A wide range of activities will be held as part of the event including a Buddhism cultural programme, a national festival of “Hat Van” or “Chau Van” (a traditional art form that combines singing and dancing), a music show featuring songs of late musician Trinh Cong Son, a scientific festival, an international trade fair, a cuisine fair and a poem festival.

Hue, which was the imperial capital of Viet Nam for hundreds of years, is home to five heritages recognised by UNESCO, namely the Hue ancient citadel relic complex – a World Cultural Heritage site; Nha Nhac (Hue royal court music) - an intangible cultural heritage item; Nguyen Dynasty’s wood blocks – a documentary heritage item; Nguyen Dynasty’s Chau ban (royal administrative documents) – part of the Asia-Pacific Register of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme; and literature on Hue royal architecture - a documentary heritage.