A 72-member Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO) will join its illustrious counterparts from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and China in a week-long music festival due to open at Tokyo’s famous Opera Concert Hall at October 3.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has officially submitted documents to UNESCO, proposing recognition of Quan ho – the traditional love duets of northern Bac Ninh province – as an intangible world cultural heritage.

The first museum of photography is built to house current exhibitions and store the largest archival collection in Vietnam, announced Chi Chi Thanh, president of the Vietnam Artistic Photographers Association (VAPA) at the groundbreaking ceremony held recently in Hanoi.

The beautiful singing voice of 53 members of the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) is expected to dazzle Hanoians during their performances in Vietnam from October 6-10 to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment Vietnam-Australia diplomatic relations.

Two tours, Seoul-Cheju-Tiger World-Everland and Seoul-Nami-Sorak-Everland, will be launched, providing Vietnamese visitors with a good chance to explore the beautiful landscapes and culture of the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Ha Long Bay has made a long jump from 16th place to 3rd on the list of nominations for new seven natural wonders of the world, according to information updated on September 23 from the website www.new7wonders.com.

Nineteen artists from the Youth Theatre in Hanoi will take part in the 10th Asian Art Festival which is due to take place in China from September 29 to October 9, according to Truong Nhuan, deputy director of the Theatre.

Elite JSC, a company responsible for submitting the names of potential contestants to the Performing Arts Department, received notice on September 23 that its three top picks would not be allowed to participate in the Miss World 2008 contest in South Africa due to mistakes made by the organizing board of the Miss Vietnam contest.

A cultural exchange, which drew ambassadors’ wives and staff of 24 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Women’s Association in Japan, was held by the Vietnamese embassy in Japan on September 22.

A colourful festival to highlight various regions’ cultural identities will take place in Hanoi from October 6-9, with a series of activities to celebrate the 1,000th founding anniversary of the Thang Long-Hanoi capital city.

Vietnamese film “Rung Den” (Black forest) will be screened at the 23rd Namur International Francophone Film Festival, scheduled to take place in Belgium from September 26 to October 3.

Nine tourists from the US, Canada and Norway will join in a trans-ASEAN motorbike tour to be launched in Vietnam for the first time on September 24.

The Magic Flute opera by genius composer W.A Mozart was performed at the Swedish theatre, NorrlandsOperan (known as Norrland Opera) last weekend.

Cuba’s famous band Warapo will perform in the Saigon Bar in the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on October 1 and feature Latin-Fusion.

The Lam Kinh Festival, which marks the 590th anniversary of Lam Son Insurrection and the 580th anniversary of King Le Thai To’s enthronement, was launched in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on September 21.

Tens of thousands of Japanese and Vietnamese visitors converged on Yoyogi Park in Tokyo on September 20 for the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Festival 2008.

Hundreds of Khmer dignitaries, monks and nuns gathered in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on September 19 to celebrate their Sene Dolta Festival.

Fourteen Vietnamese artists will take part in the 12th Constante Cambiamento (Constantly Changeable) cultural festival in the Italian city of Florence from September 19 to October 8.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company has welcomed about 1,100 visitors, mainly Australians from the SuperStar Gemini cruise ship which docked at Sai Gon port on the afternoon of September 19.

People’s artist pianist Dang Thai Son held a performance on the night of September 17 in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires where the 14th Chopin Music Festival 2008 is taking place.

Hanoi’s hotspots and traditional corners, including a flower market, a small village weaving silk and a cinematheque café, will be revealed in an episode of the five-part series. The Real…, on the BBC television in this September.

Vietnam’s film “Pao’s Story”, directed by Ngo Quang Hai, was screened at the Cinema Centre Rodina of Saint Petersburg on the night of September 17, opening the Vietnam Film Week in the city.

Pamphlets, photos and VCDs of Ha Long Bay will be circulated in Japan in a bid to promote the world heritage site in its race to become one of the world’s seven new wonders of nature.

Vietnam’s “Little Heart” (Trai tim be bong) film by Director Nguyen Thanh Van will participate in the Best Southeast Asia Film Award at the Bangkok International Film Festival held from September 23-30 in Thailand.

More than 4,500 books from the American publisher Sterling, including educational games for children, are on display at a new exhibition at Xuan Thu Bookstore in HCM City’s District 1.

The Vietnamese film masterpiece Bao gio cho den thang 10 (The love doesn’t come back) has just been selected as one of the 18 best Asian films of all times by the cable news network CNN.

Vietnam Week in Japan is a great cultural event to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

“Nha nhac” or typical royal music of the former imperial city of Hue in central Thua Thien-Hue province will become one of the first 90 heritages included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Vietnam Cultural Week in Russia began in Moscow on September 15 with a lot of activities in the presence of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem and Russian Minister of Culture Aleksander A. Avdeev.

Photographers Xuan Truong and Thong Thien’s work in capturing the devastation of the recent flash floods in Tung Chin Hamlet, Lao Cai province took a special prize in the Golden Moment press photography contest on September 15.