VietNamNet Bridge – The festival was scheduled in October but it was postponed until November 20-12.

 

The theme “The Dragon Bridge tells the story of 1000 years” was changed to “The Dragon Bridge tells the story about Thang Long – Hanoi”. The organizing board received its  license just one week before the festival.

 

Nguyen Nga, a Vietnamese French, director of the Art House at 31A Van Mieu, Hanoi, the chief organizer told VietNamNet that she wished for a miracle to complete the preparations in a timely manner.

 

She said that because of capital shortage, many big works will be cancelled and moved to next year’s festival. The event was scheduled on October 10 but it was delayed to late November because there were a lot of events organized in October to celebrate Hanoi’s 1000th anniversary.

 

“I think that many people are awaiting the festival. Festivals organized during the ten-day celebrations were for guests and officials. The Long Bien Bridge Festival is the event for ordinary people, which is supported by the people,” Nga said.

 

According to Nga, Hanoi authorities supported her idea to turn this festival into an annual event to celebrate the city’s liberation day (October 10). This is an event for the people because up to 80-90 percent of participants have never visited a gallery in their lives. They also don’t know about ca tru or installation art.

 

Nga said that the number of visitors will be restricted to a maximum of3,000 at one time to ensure safety. Police officers and 300 volunteers will be selected to guard the bridge and assist visitors. Last year 50,000 people took part in the festival.

 

Many activities will be held at the bridgeheads to serve the people who are waiting for their turns to get onto the bridge.

 

Dustbins will be installed along the bridge. Last year, many visitors threw rubbish to the Red River.

 

“Through this festival, we hope that the people will be aware of the value of this historical bridge, which is a museum, a keepsake and a work of art that the world must know,” Nga said.

 

“This year, the 1000-year history of Thang Long – Hanoi will be displayed on the 1600m bridge. The bridge will be an open book with information quoted from historical books, which is very interesting.”

 

Readers can visit www.longbienfestival.com to get further information about the event.

 

Hoang Vy-Nguyen Hoang