Around 31,000 people are expected to attend the parade for the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi at Ba Dinh Square on October 10.

A photography exhibition about Hanoi opened in HCM city on September 28 by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). 

About 1,000 reporters, including over 100 foreign ones, will cover events celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, which will take place for 10 days from Sept. 30.

A joint project to compile documents and memoirs of the Vietnam-Laos special relationship has helped strengthen the two countries’ ties, said To Huy Rua, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) and Head of the CPVCC’s Information and Education Commission.

The British Council is organising a wide range of events designed to celebrate the 1,000th birthday of Thang Long-Hanoi and promote cultural links between the United Kingdom and Vietnam throughout October.

Thousands of Buddhist followers and pilgrims from all regions of the country gathered on Phat Tich Mountain in Bac Ninh province’s Tien Du district on September 25 to witness the inauguration of a giant Buddha statue on the top of the mountain.

Almost 200 photographs taken and collected by foreign ambassadors and diplomats working in Vietnam, as well as by researchers, artists and photographers from many countries across the world are being displayed at an exhibition that opened in Hanoi on September 24.

Vietnam Television’s Dreaming Star is one of the nominees for the 2010 Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Prize for the entertainment jury’s special awards.

Spanish and Vietnamese artists will be staging a theatrical extravaganza in Hanoi on October 2 to mark the millennium.

The first episode of Vietnam's Next Top Model, a television reality show that scouts potential female models, will be broadcast on the national entertainment channel VTV3 at 8pm on September 30.

A photo exhibition on Vietnam opened in Wiesbaden, Germany on September 23 under the framework of Vietnam Year in Germany 2010.

The State Records and Archives Department will present a set of reproduced woodblocks “Chieu Doi Do” (the royal proclamation to change the capital city) and 1,000 copies of two books on Thang Long-Hanoi featuring the Nguyen dynasty woodblocks, to the Hanoi People’s Committee on September 24.

Ha Noi has the most ancient citadels in the country. Most popular are Co Loa, Thang Long Royal Citadel and Son Tay.

A magnificent ao dai exhibition will take place in Hanoi on the evening of October 1, kicking off the festival of the grand millennial anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The country’s fourth Environmental Film Festival was jointly launched in Hanoi on September 23 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, Vietnam Television and the Vietnam Film Association.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a press conference on September 22 to announce a street art programme entitled “Dragon Festival”.

First Runner-up of Miss Vietnam World Nguyen Ngoc Kieu Khanh will be Vietnam’s representative with 100 foreign beauty queens at Miss World 2010 contest in China in October.  

An exhibition called “Memories of the First Independence Day” was held in Hanoi on September 21 to present a photo album of political events from 1945-1946, including 40 photos of President Ho Chi Minh.

A photo exhibition on the Truong Sa Spratly Islands opened at 16 Ngo Quyen Street in Hanoi on September 21.

A ten-day Vietnam Film Festival in October will introduce the history and development of the capital, announced the Cinematography Department on September 21.

A German Beer Festival, Oktoberfest 2010, will take place in the American Club at 19-21 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hanoi on September 24-25.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked Hanoi and other localities in the nation to build the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese ethnic groups in Son Tay district of Hanoi into an attractive destination for foreign and domestic tourists.

Tinh Nguyen Tre (Young Volunteers) and Niem Tin (Belief) Clubs held a special Mid-Autumn festival in Thu Le Zoo, Hanoi, on September 19 for 150 disadvantaged children, including street children, the handicapped and orphans.

2010 is a special year for people’s artist Dang Thai Son to participate in the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Lighting projects to welcome the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi were inspected by Hanoi Party Chief Pham Quang Nghi on September 18.

Ten outstanding songs from the campaign to compose as song on the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) were introduced and given awards at a ceremony in Hanoi on September 18.

The Management Board of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park said on September 17 that UNESCO has sent of a group of experts to Vietnam to verify the entire dossier submitted by the country to seek the park’s second UNESCO recognition, this time for its biodiversity.

French guitar soloist Pierre Laniau will offer two evening performances at the French Cultural Centre in Hanoi on September 20 and 23.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak on Sept. 17 handed over three watercolour sketches to army painter Le Duc Tuan; he lost the paintings in a battle in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum in 1968.

‘The Colours of Vietnam and China’ is the theme of the Mid-Autumn Festival which is being held at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi from September 17-19.