This is an important event that aims to promote and effectively exploit the tourism potential and advantages of the localities, building the “Northwestern Essence” brand with rich cultural identity, honoring the land, culture, and people of the ethnic communities in the Northwest region, to attract tourists. As the leader of the 2025 collaboration and connection program, Điện Biên is actively preparing conditions to ensure the festival’s success.

The festival is a regional-level event featuring a series of cultural, sports, and tourism activities, showcasing unique tourism products and the traditional cultural identity of the ethnic groups in the Northwest region alongside the dynamism and modernity of Hồ Chí Minh City. The festival promises to create a lively and attractive cultural and tourism exchange space. The event will feature notable activities such as: the opening art program, the Northwest food festival, the “Northwestern Colors” tourism photo exhibition, showcasing distinctive tourist destinations of the expanded Northwestern provinces and Hồ Chí Minh City, a tourism promotion conference between the Northwest region and Hồ Chí Minh City, the “Northwestern Essence” street festival, and an art exchange program.

Ms. Nguyễn Thị Thanh Chuyên, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said: “To successfully organize the activities, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness, the department is urgently implementing the preparation work. The department has advised the provincial People’s Committee to issue documents to unify coordination with the expanded Northwest provinces and Hồ Chí Minh City. In collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs, invitations have been sent to embassies in Hanoi and some other countries such as Russia, China, Laos, Thailand. For each event during the festival, the department has issued detailed plans for implementation and assigned tasks to relevant units. The department has also advised the provincial People’s Committee to select suitable venues for organizing the activities and cooperated with relevant departments to mobilize forces for organizing.”

The opening ceremony will take place at the provincial stadium; exhibitions showcasing distinctive tourist destinations from the expanded Northwestern provinces and Hồ Chí Minh City, the Northwestern food festival, the “Northwestern Colors” tourism photo exhibition, and the art exchange program will be held at the 7/5 Square; the “Northwestern Essence” street festival will take place along Võ Nguyên Giáp Street (from the Điện Biên Phủ Victory Monument to Vincom Commercial Center).

Currently, the department has completed the draft of the 2025 Northwestern Essence - Điện Biên Festival script and submitted it to the provincial People’s Committee for approval. The assigned units are urgently carrying out the tasks assigned to them. During the event, the department will collaborate with medical forces, traffic management, security, environmental sanitation, and fire prevention units to ensure safety at the activities. Publicity work will also be promoted through various forms of mass media, electronic information platforms, social networks, banners, slogans, and posters. The content will focus on the festival’s timing, location, and activities.

Mr. Phạm Mạnh Cường, Director of the provincial Culture and Cinema Center shared: “The unit has been tasked with preparing for the street festival at the 2025 Northwestern Essence - Điện Biên Festival. Recently, the unit has actively advised the department on activities, participants, and locations for the event. The festival will feature comprehensive singing and dancing performances; parades introducing the cultural diversity of the ethnic groups from the Northwestern provinces and Hồ Chí Minh City. We are also designing a photo area (for public use and tourists); organizing cultural, sports, and tourism experiences, traditional games such as ‘Tung còn,’ ‘Nhảy sạp,’ ‘Múa xòe,’ ‘Lăm vông,’ ‘Đi cà kheo,’ ‘Tù lu,’ ‘Giã bánh dày,’ etc.”

Currently, the center has completed the draft script, selected performance programs for the opening ceremony, and determined the number of participants in the parade. It is also intensifying publicity by showing films/videos promoting tourism in the Northwestern region and Hồ Chí Minh City, building promotional materials for the festival, and hanging banners and slogans for publicity.