Asian advertising logo design contest launched

The Vietnam Advertising Association (VAA) on May 23 launched an international logo design contest for the 28 th Asian Advertising Congress 2013 (ADASIA) to be hosted by Vietnam.

The contest, which will start on May 25 and end on August 15, is open to professional and non-professional individuals and organisations in Vietnam and worldwide.

Entries must reflect the topic of “Re-engineering Advertisements”, and be simple, modern, artistic and ingenious. The logo must contain the words “ADASIA VIETNAM 2013” and use a maximum of five colours.

The results of the contest will be announced on the website http://www.designs.vn/logo-adasia13 on August 25.

The winning design will become the official logo for ADASIA Vietnam 2013 and will be awarded a cash prize of 30 million VND.

According to VAA Vice President and General Secretary Tran Hung, the contest helps raise public awareness of the 28 th Asian Advertising Congress 2013 (ADASIA) that Vietnam will host.

With a message of “Peace – Friendliness – Cooperation,” the event will provide a good opportunity for Vietnam to promote trade and tourism with countries in the Asian region and the world, he said.

Students dance in Ha Noi to gear up for the London Olympics

Big Dance, a programme organised by the British Council in the lead-up to the London Olympics, will take place in Ha Noi today with the participation of hundreds of students.

With the theme "Power of Sports", the show featuring dance routines by well-known choreographer Wayne McGregor will start at 2pm at Gia Thuy Secondary School, 562 Nguyen Van Cu Street, Ha Noi.

Students taking part in the show have been practising their steps in what will be a celebration of sports and the Olympic movement.

The dance's creator McGregor has choreographed many works for Opera Ballet Paris and ballet troupes in the US, Australia and the UK. He also worked as motion director for the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

DVDs of dances were sent to participating schools for teachers and students to practise before the performance.

Before Ha Noi, the Big Dance programme was launched in HCM City, Hai Phong and Da Nang.

Launched since 2006 by the Arts Council England, the Big Dance has attracted millions to the joys of sports and dancing.

French classical pianist to perform at Ha Noi Opera House

Classical music lovers will be able to hear pianist Roger Muraro perform at the Ha Noi Opera House on June 19.

Muraro will play pieces by Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt.

Born in 1959 in France, Roger has won numerous international music awards and worked with many famous conductors. He has played with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the French National Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

He last performed at the Ha Noi Opera House in 2011.-

200-year-old Hue observatory is well preserved: archaeologists

A report on the excavation of Quan Tuong in Hue has identified it as the country's only ancient observatory intact enough to be preserved as a monument.

At a seminar held in Hue on Thursday, experts from the Hue Centre for Monuments Conservation said at the 250sq.m excavation site they had identified over 80 per cent of the foundation of the Bat Phong Temple, Quan Tuong's main structure.

They had also found an old waterway dredging system and a stairway leading to the upper portions of the 200-year-old observatory.

They have measured the height of the observatory and the size of the Bat Phong Temple and documented details about the materials and colours used in the building.

Located on Nam Minh Fort in the southwestern part of the Hue Royal Citadel and overlooking the Huong River and Bach Ho Bridge, the observatory was built in 1827 by Emperor Minh Mang (1820-40) for astronomical and meteorological observation.

Its operation was synchronous with the Kham Thien Giam agency which specialised in meteorology and making calendars during the Nguyen Dynasty era (1802-1945).-

Mexican writer to meet with Vietnamese readers

Famous Mexican writer Alberto Ruy Sanchez is scheduled to  introduce his three famous novels, which has been translated into Vietnamese, to readers in Hanoi on May 28.  

His novels include The Name of the Air, On the Lips of the Water, and The Secret Gardens of Mogador, Voices of Land.

Born in 1951, Sanchez is considered the most influenced writer in the contemporary Latin American literature.

Since 1988 he has been the chief editor and founding publisher of Latin America’s leading arts magazine, Artes de Mexico.

During the event, jointly held by the Nha Nam Publishing House and the Mexican Embassy in Hanoi, the readers will also meet with Tran Tien Cao Dang, who has translated some famous works include The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, the Dune series by Frank Herbert and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Name of the Air.

Japanese guitarist to perform Vietnamese folksong

Japan’s famous guitarist Yamada Gaku will perform at a concert in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29 together with local artist Nguyen Tri Doan, a member of the Saigon guitar club.    

Born in 1981, Yamada Gaku learned to play the guitar at an early age and has won many prestigious prizes in Japan and Germany.

At the coming concert, the Japanese artist will play six pieces of music, including Prelude No.1 (Heitor Villa Lobos), Sonata No.2 (Hebert Vazquez), Soushun fu (Akira Nataka) Chaconne BWV1004 (J.S.Bach), Traumerei (R.Schumann), and Beo dat may troi (Drifting Blossoms, Floating Clouds) – a Vietnamese folksong.