Swedish photographer Eva Lindskog and her Vietnamese colleague Le Thiet Cuong jointly opened their photo exhibition in Hanoi on January 4, reminding visitors of their daily life during the subsidy period.

The 19th Charming Vietnam Gala, co-organised by Thanh Nien (Youth) Newspaper and Thanh Nien (Youth) Film Studio, opened on January 3 at the Hoa Binh Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hanoi’s winter night of January 12 is expected to be warmed up with a Vietnam-US concert that will conjure up classic and folk music of the two countries.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on January 3 by Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Prudential Vietnam Life Insurance Company to donate audio books to children who are visually impaired through the Vietnam Association for the Blind (VAB).

Twenty nine foreign art troupes have so far registered to take part in the Hue Festival 2008 from June 3-11.

The capital city will soon begin counting down the days until the 1,000th anniversary of its founding in 1010 with the name of Thang Long.

The Chua Thanh pagoda in the northern border province of Lang Son has been recognized as a Buddhist pagoda with the biggest volume of bronze statues in Vietnam.

Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) a year ago. What has been its impact on the country’s culture, sports and tourism over the last year? VOVNews spoke to some senior government officials about the matter.

The Vietnam Feature Film Company is doing its best to release a motion picture about King Ly Cong Uan on May Day 2010, to mark the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Thang Long – Hanoi.

Can Tho city aims to welcome 2-2.2 million visitors in 2008, earning a turnover of VND500 billion in the National Tourism Year 2008.

A fashion show featuring ten Vietnamese and 30 foreign models, co-organised by Saigontourist and P.L Model Company, will be held on the five-star cruise ship Fashion TV on December 31 in Nha Rong Harbour in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 19th Charming Vietnam Gala, which is organised by Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper, will be held at the Hoa Binh Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City from January 3-6.

With one hour of getting free Internet access, people can go to the Culture-Post sites in communes to be guided how to use free Internet twice a week.

The Major Events Organising Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on December 28 announced the opening of HCMC’s New Year 2008 Greeting Festival at the September 23 Park.

The 2008 Ha Long Carnival is planned to take place from April 26 to May 1, 2008 with the subject “Ha Long Bay – one of the wonders of the world”.

A brick kiln of the Cham ethnic people dating back to the 8th-9th century has been found in the central province of Quang Ngai by local archaeologists.

Ten young artists from Ho Chi Minh City received US$500 each from Australia’s Melbourne city on December 27 under the 2007 Young Artist Grants Programme.

A film about US pilots imprisoned in Hanoi was broadcast for the first time on Vietnam Television’s VTV1 on December 26.

Vietnam set a target of receiving 5 million foreign visitors in 2008, or a year-on-year increase of 19 percent.

Nine excellent works of art among the 110 entries from students of Hanoi universities will be awarded.

The Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism held a conference in Hanoi on December 26 to review the results of Vietnam’s participation in the 41st Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival held in Washington D.C in the United States, from June 27 to July 8.

US country music duo, Bob and Tucker Livingston, will perform in Vietnam from January 2-14, 2008, announced the US Embassy in Hanoi and the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on December 26.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) held a press briefing on December 25 to announce the outstanding events of the tourism sector in 2007 and the major activities to be done in 2008.

Foreign arrivals in Ho Chi Minh City are estimated to reach 2.7 million in 2007, representing an increase of 14.8 percent over 2006.

The Literature and Art Department of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) on December 24 held a ceremony to receive the Third Class Independence Order and review its activities in 2007.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Danh Thai on December 24 chaired a press conference to announce the top ten events and five shortcomings for the sectors over the past year.

The tourism-boom province of Quang Ninh on December 23 launched a massive campaign calling on the world to vote for Ha Long Bay as a world natural wonder.

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Vietnam’s Military History Museum has attracted more than 300,000 visitors this year, two-thirds of them from foreign countries.

Nguyen Thi Hoang Nhung, a Tay ethnic girl from northern Thai Nguyen province, beat all the other 48 candidates during the finals on December 21 to win the title of Miss Ethnicity Vietnam 2007.