Huế Announces Year-Long Huế Festival 2026 at Imperial Citadel Ceremony
Huế, The Gulf Observer: The People’s Committee of the central city of Huế on January 1 officially announced Huế Festival 2026 at a ceremony held at Ngọ Môn Square in the Huế Imperial Citadel, marking the start of a year-long series of cultural and artistic celebrations.
Director of the Huế Monuments Conservation Centre, Hoàng Việt Trung, said the festival will feature nearly 80 cultural, artistic, sports and international exchange activities and programmes throughout 2026. He noted that the event will continue to reinforce Huế’s position as Việt Nam’s leading festival hub and a distinctive heritage city.
According to Hoàng Việt Trung, Huế Festival 2026 holds particular significance as the city accelerates its development strategy centered on the preservation and promotion of imperial heritage values, the safeguarding of cultural identity, and its aspiration to become a heritage–ecological–landscape city that is environmentally friendly and smart.
The festival will be organised under a four-season model. The spring festival, running through the first three months of the year, will feature reenactments of royal rituals and traditional folk festivals. The summer festival, from April to June, will include Huế Festival Week 2026, themed Cultural Heritage, Integration and Development. This peak period is expected to bring together domestic and international art troupes, combining performances in restored heritage spaces and offering fresh and emotionally rich experiences for audiences.
The autumn festival, scheduled from July to September, will include Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, the Huế Lantern Festival 2026, as well as exhibitions, installations, lantern parades, lion dances and art performances. The winter festival will conclude the year with new festive activities such as music shows and a New Year countdown, creating a lively and warm atmosphere during the colder season.
In addition to the main programmes, a wide range of other festivals, competitions, displays and exhibitions will be organised by domestic and international organisations and individuals throughout the year.
At the announcement ceremony, the Huế Monuments Conservation Centre staged a reenactment of the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1945)’s Ban Sóc ceremony, officially opening the Huế Festival series. Historically, Ban Sóc was the imperial calendar-announcing ceremony held annually at the end of the lunar year to distribute calendars to the royal family, court officials and the public.
