The German Embassy in Vietnam held a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on March 25 to announce the start of “ Germany Year in Vietnam.”

The Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee opened its old quarter information centre at Quan De Temple in Hang Buom Street on March 25.

A painting exhibition opened at a showroom of the Judith Hughes Day Contemporary Vietnamese Fine Art in New York on March 24.

Top local and foreign singers will share the stage during a series of concerts to raise awareness of human trafficking which will kick off on March 27 in Hanoi.

A Vietnamese team has won the first prize at the 13th Large Scale Integrated (LSI) Design Contest in Okinawa, Japan.

The ambassadors of Italy, Germany, Brazil, Sweden and Belgium will join a cooking contest at Mediterraneo restaurant in Hanoi on April 3.

Michelle Phan, a Vietnamese-American student from Florida has been contracted by make-up brand Lancome to serve as its first make up instructor via video clips.

The 2010 Ha Long Tourism Festival will take place in the northern border province of Quang Ninh from April 29 to May 2.

Vietnamese people and international friends will gain a better understanding of late President Ho Chi Minh’s life through a film titled “Look to the sea” made by the Vietnam Cinematography Association.

Da Nang will host its second international firework contest on March 27-28 under the theme of “Huyen thoai song Han” (the Legendary Han River), attracting five teams from the US, Japan, France, Portugal and the host Vietnam.

A nine-day artistic photo exhibition, entitled Nhip Thoi Gian (Rhythm of Time), will open at Da Nang’s general science library on March 25, said artist Phan Ngoc Hoi.

The second Cracking Bamboo music festival is being held at Hanoi’s Goethe Institute drawing about 60 musicians from around the world from March 22 to April 3.

The French composer, singer Eric Vincent, who has won many prizes from various radio broadcasters and made tours of more than 140 countries, will arrive in Vietnam to perform this week.

The 22nd Duyen Dang Vietnam (Charming Vietnam) music gala called “the breath of the sea” was held in Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province for a live TV broadcast on March 21.

A 19-member Vietnamese circus troupe joined their Lao counterparts to entertain local audiences in the Lao capital city of Vientiane on March 20.

An exhibition featuring Vietnamese women’s daily lives kicked off in Paris, France, on March 20.

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.