Vietnam’s music industry entered a decisive new phase in 2025, marked not only by rapid expansion in scale, but also by rising professionalism, deeper audience engagement and growing international visibility.

Vietnam aims to rank among the top three ASEAN countries and the world’s top 30 in the Soft Power Index by 2045, while becoming an attractive destination for tourism, investment, innovation and international cultural exchange, supporting its goal of becoming a developed, high-income nation.

VOV.VN - In the run-up to the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, workshops in Bat Trang pottery village, Hanoi, are operating at full capacity to meet rising demand for horse-shaped figurines ahead of Tet.

VOV.VN - Ho Chi Minh City will organise the 11th Vietnam–Japan Festival in early March at 23/9 Park, featuring a wide range of cultural, trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchange activities between the two countries.

VOV.VN - The Spring Fair 2026 opened to visitors on February 2, presenting eight carefully curated exhibition spaces that highlight the colours and cultural traditions of the Tet holiday at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre in Dong Anh, Hanoi.

A photo exhibition showcasing landmark moments in Vietnam’s revolutionary history opened at Chi Lang Park in Ho Chi Minh City on February 2, marking the 96th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930–2026) and celebrating the successful 14th National Party Congress.

VOV.VN - The final night of the inaugural Miss Multicultural World beauty pageant is scheduled to take place in Vietnam on June 28, attracting beauties from around 50 countries and territories worldwide.

VOV.VN - Miss Global Nguyen Dinh Nhu Van has been nominated for the list of 12 Misses of 2025, as compiled by Missosology, the world’s leading publication on beauty pageants.

VOV.VN - Vietnam’s Tet Festival 2026 to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year of the Horse opened at the Youth Cultural House, Ho Chi Minh City, on February 1, offering a vibrant cultural space that celebrates the beauty of traditional Tet customs.

UNESCO highly welcomes the vision reflected in the Politburo’s Resolution 80-NQ/TW, said UNESCO Representative to Vietnam Jonathan Wallace Baker, noting that by positioning culture as a core resource and a pillar for development, Vietnam is placing people, values, and identity at the heart of its long-term strategy.

VOV.VN - Ho Chi Minh City will hold fireworks displays at 17 locations on Lunar New Year’s Eve for the Year of the Horse 2026, including four sites featuring a combination of high- and low-altitude fireworks and 13 sites with low-altitude displays only.

VOV.VN - The Hue Museum of Fine Arts has opened the themed exhibition “Ngựa với sắc xuân Bính Ngọ 2026” (Horse and the Colours of Spring - the Year of the Horse 2026), presenting 34 works by 23 artists in painting and sculpture.

VOV.VN - Vietnamese representative Nguyen Thi Thu Ngan finished in the Top 23 at the Miss Intercontinental 2026 grand final held in Egypt on January 29, falling short of expectations after being widely tipped by international beauty websites as a strong contender for the crown.

VOV.VN - The Vietnamese war film “Red Rain” has continued its successful awards run, receiving an honour at the Mai Vang Awards (Golden Apricot Blossom Awards) after winning top prizes at several other major film festivals.

Under the auspices of the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand, the Vietnamese Association in Wellington (VietCom) recently hosted an event to welcome the Lunar New Year (Tet) 2026, featuring a lineup of meaningful activities rich in national cultural identity.

VOV.VN - A total of 31 Vietnamese creators were honored at the 7th BIGO Awards Gala 2026, the platform’s largest annual event, held recently in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, according to a representative of Bigo Live Vietnam.

VOV.VN -A Liverpool Culture Festival was held at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House on January 28 and 29 by Liverpool City Council to mark the twinning relationship between the UK city and the southern metropolis.

A photo exhibition titled "Celebrating the Party, the Spring, and the Success of the 14th National Party Congress" opened on January 28 at the 29 Hang Bai Exhibition Hall in Hanoi.

Experts have outlined solutions to bring social sciences knowledge directly into the process of implementing Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW, issued by the Politburo on January 7, 2026, on the development of Vietnamese culture.

VOV.VN - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has published a message welcoming Vietnam’s Resolution 80 on the development of culture.

The Ministry of Home Affairs’ State Records and Archives Department on January 28 unveiled a space introducing Vietnam’s world documentary heritage and outstanding national archival collections, in a move to make historical records more accessible to the public.

VOV.VN -K-pop group EXO will perform in Ho Chi Minh City this April as part of their sixth world tour, EXO PLANET #6 - EXhOrizon, which will kick off in Seoul before travelling to 13 locations worldwide.

VOV.VN - The third Vietnam Festival in Osaka is scheduled to take place on March 7-8, featuring Vietnamese and Japanese artists and a wide range of cultural activities aimed at introducing Vietnamese culture to international friends.

VOV.VN - Welcoming the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, a ceramic workshop in Lai Thieu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, has unveiled a new collection of zodiac figurines titled Ngọ Nam (Southern Horse), inspired by the image of the horse symbolising the open-spirited, resilient and vibrant character of southern Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh has approved the submission of the scientific dossier on the Oc Eo – Ba The archaeological site in southern An Giang province to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for consideration and inclusion on the world heritage list.

VOV.VN - The capital city of Hanoi will play host to an ornamental plant, OCOP (One Commune One Product) and regional specialties festival at the Astronomy Park in Duong Noi Ward, Hanoi, from February 5 to 11.

VOV.VN - The Vietnam–Belgium co-produced documentary Hair, Paper, Water is scheduled to be screened on the evening of January 30 at the “En ville !” Documentary Film Festival in Brussels and is expected to attract audiences and international filmmakers.

As the Lunar New Year (Tet) – the Year of the Horse approaches, peach growers in Da Bac commune, Phu Tho province, are busy tending and preparing distinctive peach trees for the Tet market.

VOV.VN - TC Candler, an art critic website, has published the nominations for its annual world-famous 100 Most Beautiful Faces and 100 Most Handsome Faces list for 2026, including two Vietnamese nominees.

The 2021–2025 period marked a turning point for Vietnam’s cultural industries as film, music, cultural tourism and video games surged into a new era of scale and sophistication, delivering billions of US dollars in revenue and while projecting a more confident, compelling vision of Vietnamese soft power to the world.