Voting was launched on December 6 in Hanoi by Van Hoa (Culture) newspaper under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other competent agencies.

Phan Thanh Nam, deputy editor-in-chief of Van Hoa (Culture) newspaper, said voting had been cancelled for two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, although this year it would resume in order to honour the country’s most outstanding cultural, sporting, and tourism events.

The organisers received a total of 111 nominations following submissions made by the culture, sports, and tourism departments of various cities and provinces, as well as agencies of the Ministry.

A total of 15 events have been selected for the final vote to held in two forms.

Direct votes by representatives of central and local press outlets took place on December 6 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hanoi.

Others will be able to vote through the website http://sukienvhttdl.bvhttdl.gov.vn/ from 8:30 a.m. on December 6 to 5 p.m. on December 9.

The voting results will be announced later.

With regard to culture, a total of seven events have been named, including negotiations to repatriate the Nguyen Dynasty’s imperial seal, recent UNESCO recognition of the art of pottery making as the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and the hosting of the sixth Hanoi International Film Festival.

Four sports events have been selected for voting, including the hosting of SEA Games 31, the Vietnamese national women’s football team competing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time, and the national Paralympics team beating their target at the ASEAN Para Games 2022.

Elsewhere, there are three events in tourism and one event in family categories, including the full reopening of international tourism as of March 15, the recovery of the domestic tourism industry with 110 million arrivals, tourism promotion in the Republic of Korea, and the adoption of the revised Law on Domestic Violence and Control.