The closing ceremony had the attendance of Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh; Secretary General of ASEAN Le Luong Minh; ministers in charge of culture and art of ASEAN countries; leaders of Thua Thien – Hue Province; and artists, visitors, Thua Thien – Hue’s people.

Under the theme “The echo of a river”, the closing ceremony of Hue Festival 2014 is a multicolored art program with the harmony combination of Vietnamese traditional culture and specific culture of many countries around the world. Using the background of Truong Tien Bridge lit by more than 3,000 candles and dazzling firework performance in the floating stage on the romantic Huong River, the art items praising Hue beauty and Vietnamese people and country left deep impression on visitors. Besides, the visitors also enjoyed diversified performances of international art troupes from Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Vice Chairman of Thua Thien –Hue People's Committee, Head of the Organization Board of Hue Festival 2014 Ngo Hoa summarized the main activities at the festival including the opening and closing ceremonies, Oriental Night, Royal Palace Night, Ao dai Show, “Am sac Huong Binh” program to honor Ca Hue, Nam Giao ceremony, street festivals, lighting up Truong Tien Bridge, ASEAN +3 Conference of ministers in charge of culture and art… He affirmed Hue Festival is a typical international culture tourism event imbued the cultural identities of Viet Nam and Hue. The event is also opportunity to strengthen the solidarity and friendship among countries through cultural and art exchanges.

Hue Festival 2014 attracted more than 2.4 million visitor arrivals, including 230,000 overnight arrivals (up 25% compared with Hue Festival 2012) and 100,000 international visitor arrivals from 115 countries and territories around the world.

Thu Giang