Hanoi is hosting the 'Creative Meetup' programme at Hoan Kiem Lake pedestrian area on January 10-11, aiming to connect creative resources, inspire ideas and launch the journey towards the Hanoi Festival of Creative Design 2026 in November.

VOV.VN - Nearly 200 creative organisations and individuals will take part in an event in Hanoi on January 10–11, marking the start of a series of activities leading up to the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026, scheduled for November, city authorities said.

Hanoi is stepping up efforts to turn its cultural heritage into a driver of the creative economy by adopting a long-term and ecosystem-based approach aimed at making creativity a pillar of the capital’s sustainable development.

VOV.VN - Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Hanoi continued to rise strongly in 2025, with both scale and quality showing marked improvement. Backed by new mechanisms under the 2024 Capital Law, the city is reinforcing its appeal as a dynamic urban centre with a strategic vision for investment attraction and infrastructure development.

As the cultural industries emerge as a new growth engine for many economies worldwide, Vietnam’s recent release of a Strategy for the Development of Cultural Industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045, holds significant importance.

VOV.VN - The biennial Hanoi Creative Design Festival, with major events typically in November, will run from January to November in 2026, shifting from a traditional festival model to a dynamic urban creative ecosystem.

The “Happy Vietnam 2025” Awards, an annual human rights media contest, were held on December 6 in Hanoi, with the first prizes presented to photographer Pham Ngoc Long Thien and videographer Luu Minh Khuong.

After six years of being part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of design, Hanoi has been actively pushing forward with its commitments through concrete actions, making creativity a crucial driver of its development.

Photo Hanoi’25, the second International Photography Biennale, has attracted more than 200,000 in-person and online visitors, along with coverage from over 100 media outlets worldwide.

VOV.VN - The Asia Creative Forum 2025, jointly organized by the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism and the British Council opened in Hanoi on November 28, featuring the participation of policymakers, experts, artists, and international delegates from across the region.