Thua Thien Hue province is the leading locale in organizing a national and international contemporary festival of national and international stature - the Hue Festival. Over the past 22 years, Hue Festival has become a notable festival among the world festivals. The role and position of the Hue Festival are increasingly affirmed.

Hue Festival 2023 will particularly focus on activities to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Hue Monuments Complex recognized by UNESCO as the World Cultural Heritage and the 20^th anniversary of Hue Royal Court Music as the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Additionally, several programs to celebrate the decennial or milestone anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and other countries will also be co-organized by the Embassies and Thua Thien Hue province.

From the achieved results and experiences, Hue Festival 2023 will be a continuation of various folk festivals, royal festivals, religious festivals, and traditional festivals while gradually developing new festival programs in line with the current trends and recreational demand from the public as well as expanding them into festival-tourism products that contribute to the socio-economic development of the province.

Hue Festival 2023 commences with the re-enactment of the Ban Soc (Calendar Book Distribution) Ceremony at 8:00 a.m. on January 1^st, 2023 at the Meridian Gate of Hue Citadel and will end with a Countdown Program on December 31^st, 2023. The highlight will be the Hue Traditional Craft Festival Week themed “The quintessence of Vietnamese traditional crafts” (April 28^th - May 5^th, 2023).

Schedule of Hue Festival 2023:

Spring Festival “Spring in the Ancient Capital” (from January to March) includes typical royal festivals, traditional festivals, and folk festivals as in the past year. The festival starts with the announcement of Hue Festival 2023 and the re-enactment of Ban Soc Ceremony. Especially, the 1st National Apricot Blossom Festival (from January 9^th – 19^th, 2023) will be organized, aiming at turning Hue into the land of Apricot Blossom in Viet Nam.

Summer Festival “The Shining Citadel” (from April to June) will be the climax of the whole year, with the highlight of Hue Traditional Craft Festival themed “Vietnamese craft quintessence” (April 28^th - May 5^th, 2023), and the programs commemorating the 30^th anniversary of Hue Monuments Complex and the 20^th anniversary of Hue Royal Court Music honored by UNESCO.

Autumn Festival “Hue in Autumn” (from July to September) will focus on the Ao dai festival, connecting the Ao dai Fashion Week with Mid-Autumn festivities such as the Lantern Festival, Lion Dance Festival, including the display, demonstration and parade of lantern and lion dance.

Winter Festival “Winter in the land of Hue” (from October to December) consists of several new festival activities to create a more vibrant and warmer winter atmosphere in Hue while creating various forms of recreation and entertainment for visitors to enjoy during their stay in Hue. The highlight will be the International Music Festival and the Countdown program to welcome the new year.

Hue Festival 2023 will re-affirm the orientation of Four-season Festival, continuously diversify the contents and forms of festival activities all year round to honor and promote the distinctive cultural features of the land, exploit the strengths of scenery and spiritual tourism to increase the attractiveness of the destination, and contribute to the development of local tourism, culture, and socio-economy so that Hue can truly become the typical festival city of Viet Nam.