At a press conference in Hanoi on January 21, the Head of the festival’s Organising Board, Ngo Hoa, said that the festival is a large event with special cultural and tourism programmes and a meeting place for representatives from cities with world cultural heritage sites and traditions.

This year’s festival programmes will feature the cultural values of countries across the world including France, the US, Japan, Australia and Central Africa.

Vietnam will introduce its unique culture to international friends with the performance art of the Hue royal court and an “ao dai” (traditional long dress) show along with royal court festivals.

The 2010 Hue Festival will be expanded to surrounding areas, towns and new urban areas.

Starting in 2000, the biennial Hue Festival has so far gained remarkable achievements. The last festival attracted nearly 2,000 artists and 210,000 visitors.