The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism on February 4 launched a video clip contest on the subject of Thang Long-Hanoi to celebrate the upcoming millennium anniversary. 

A hip-hop contest entitled ‘Urban Kingz 2’ will be held in two days, starting this Saturday at Celadon Hotel in Hue city.

Well-known singer Tata Young, who won the Thailand MTV Asia Awards 2009, will perform in Vietnam on February 16.

Vietnam’s top model and 2006 Miss Earth’s Miss Talent runner-up Vu Nguyen Ha Anh will travel to Hangzhou, China to compete in the Fashion Asia 2010 pageant on February 6.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan was elected Chairman of Vietnam-Germany University (VGU)’s Council with Germany’s Hessen State Minister of Science and the Arts, Eva Kuhne-Hormann, as his deputy in Ho Chi Minh City on February 2.

Three art troupes from Belgium will take part in the 2010 Hue Festival in the central province of Thua Thien Hue from June 5-13.

Around 2,000 people are expected to join in drawing the “Tale of carp turning into dragon” at the Tet Viet 2010 Fair due to open at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on February 5. 

An exhibition of mementos of Vietnam’s recent resistance wars started in Hanoi on February 2, displaying 550 significant items selected from 10,000 keepsakes that were collected during a campaign launched by the General Political Department of the Vietnam People’s Army.

Hanoi’s Spring Fair will take place from February 2-12 at the Vietnam Exhibition and Fair Centre.

A set of 20 photos highlighting environmental issues has earned Hoang Quoc Tuan the title of master photographer from the Federation of International Artistic Photography (FIAP).

Mrs. Doan Thi Kim Hong will be a member of the judging panel for the Mrs. World 2010 contest, said Mrs. World President David Z. Marmel.

A record number of 1,000 ‘chung’ (square glutinous rice) cakes will be wrapped and boiled in one big pot this week and delivered directly to underprivileged children on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival.

The Vietnamese film “Don’t Burn” was screened by the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan on January 29 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3rd).  

A concert was held at the Opera House in Hanoi on January 30 to mark 60 years of Vietnamese-Hungarian friendship.

The Vietnam-Germany University (VGU) will recruit 160 students for its under and post-graduate programmes in 2010, said Professor Rieck, Rector of the VGU, at a press briefing on January 29.

Almost 20 businesses from Geumsan County in the Republic of Korea (RoK) are showcasing their ginseng products at the Big C supermarket in Hanoi from January 29-31.

The PepsiCo International Vietnam Company will introduce World Cup song 2010 entitled “Oh Africa” to Vietnamese football fans on January 31.

A book about General Vo Nguyen Giap will be published in March by the Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) Publishing House to celebrate his 100th birthday (August 25). 

The Tich Dien Mua Xuan (Spring Ploughing) Festival, initiated more than 1,000 years ago to promote agriculture, will take place in the northern province of Ha Nam from February 18-20 (from the fifth to seventh day of the first lunar month). 

Hanoi’s preparations for the forthcoming 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi have been covered on Germany’s ‘Mirror’ website.

A special concert from the Ho Chi Minh City Music Conservatory’s symphony orchestra will grace the city this week. 

The dossier of the Vietnamese Giong Festival, sent to UNESCO in a bid to get the festival recognised as an intangible cultural heritage, has been preliminarily approved and forwarded to UNSECO’s Intergovernmental Committee for further appraisal.

With his “Harvest season” photo, Vietnamese photographer Tran Viet Van, a reporter for the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper, has won fourth prize at the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, ranked behind 3 US photographers.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has directed the capital city of Hanoi to increase promotional activities to polish Hanoi’s image as a city for peace while completing key infrastructure facilities to serve the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

A British punk band, who calls themselves the Melodramas, will perform with two Vietnamese rock bands, Unlimited and Microwave, at the Apocalypse Now Club in Ho Chi Minh City on February 4.

A special ceremony was held to rebury the remains of King Le Du Tong (1679-1731) in Bai Trach village, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province on Jan. 25.

A German film week kicked off at the Hanoi-based Goethe Institute on January 25.

Germany’s Berlin chorus in coordination with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Hanoi Opera House on January 23.

On January 23, the Vietnam Craft Village Association presented certificates of merit and conferred ”Craft Village 2009” title on six outstanding craft villages, nine businesses, 29 artisans and six products that represent the nation’s culture.

The Little Sweep, a famous opera by world famous British composer, Benjamin Britten, will be performed at the Hanoi Opera House on February 3-4.