Tens of thousands of music fans flocked to April 2 Square to experience the excitement of rock music performed at the “Rockstorm 2010” festival held in Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province.

Thua Thien-Hue’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 20 organised a ceremony to announce the city’s 2010 tourism year and presented to the public the country’s biggest plain rice cake.

The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Ho Chi Minh City has organised a cultural exchange programme from March 18-22 to commemorate the 18th establishment of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic relations. 

A “Shanghai – World exhibition” opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Exhibition Centre on March 19.

The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences officially opened a display of bound volumes containing the epics of ethnic groups in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) on March 18.

Norwegian conductor Tgruls Sanaker and his colleagues will stage a concert at the HCM City Opera House this week, accompanied by the city’s Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO).

Belgian artist, C-Drik, will perform at the 2010 Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival to take place at the Giang Vo Exhibition Centre in Hanoi from March 26-28.

Dr Doan Thi Kim Hong, Chairwoman of CIAT Advertising Company, has been invited to head the judges panel for Mrs World 2010 contest which will be held in the Republic of Korea on October 24.

A programme named “Art Corner” will be held at 5pm every Wednesday at the Republic of Korea (RoK) Cultural Centre as part of activities to mark the millennium anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The Museum of Arts in Busan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), is hosting an exhibition of 100 outstanding paintings of Vietnam’s modern art, from March 10-April 25.

A collection on epics of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, made its debut in Ho Chi Minh City on March 17.

South Korean rock band Biuret will perform for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City on March 19.

One hundred bronze drums are being cast for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long -Hanoi.

The world-leading magazine for young women, the Cosmopolitan, first launched in Vietnam on March 15 with the April 2010 issue.

A Vietnamese art troupe will set off to Japan for an exchange on March 27 at the invitation of the Japan-Vietnam Culture Exchange Centre and the Japanese International Exchange Foundation.

Viewers will have the chance to borrow films for their personal enjoyment from the first digital video library, which opened on March 15.

The Writers’ Associations of Vietnam and Laos will continue promoting cooperation and sharing experiences in writing, translating, and training young writers, said the President of the Lao Writers’ Association, Chanthi Duonsavan.

A Tourism and Culture Week will open in Hoi An City, Quang Nam province from March 21-28 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Hoi An Liberation Day.

Hundreds of stars and fans of national cinema joined the 8th Golden Kite awards at the Friendship Palace in Hanoi on March 14 to celebrate the victory of Dung Dot (Don’t burn), which won six Golden Kite awards.

A Vietnamese cultural festival was held at Warwick University in the UK on March 13 by the Vietnamese Students’ Association.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hosted an Asia Culinary Fair, at which guests and diplomats from many countries had the chance to enjoy Vietnamese food.

The Global Film Initiative featured Vietnamese director Bui Thac Chuyen's film "Adrift" ("Choi voi") at downtown Letelier Theater on the night of March 12.

The Vietnam National Academy of Music (VNAM) and the Southwest Symphony Orchestra is working on a joint cultural project considered the biggest ever in the Vietnam-US relations.

A Francophone Film Festival kicked off in Hanoi on March 12 as part of a national celebration of International Francophone Day in Vietnam.

Guest conductor Gudni Emilsson and pianist Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy will be performing works by Schubert, Mozart and Haydn with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) on March 14 to mark 2010 German Year in Vietnam.

Xam music, usually performed by groups of blind people wandering along the streets of Hanoi, is being revived, performed and introduced to the public by the Vietnam Music Art Development Centre (VMADC).

The British Council will coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam to organise a training course on festival management in Hanoi from March 17-20.

Eighty artists from 16 countries and territories on four continents will take part in the 2010 Hanoi Sound Festival to be held at the Giang Vo Exhibition Centre from March 26-28, dubbed ‘Green Space’.

Russia has published a book covering the 60 years of comprehensive relations between Vietnam and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The 2010 Grammy Award winner Dobet Gnahore from the Ivory Coast will perform at the Youth Theatre in Hanoi on the evening of March 18.