On July 9, the government issued Decree No. 277/2026/ND-CP on Digital Cultural Infrastructure, marking a strategic milestone that lays the foundation for developing digital cultural infrastructure and establishes a framework for the development and state management of culture in the digital era.

Speaking to VietNamNet, People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, Director of the Vietnam Circus Federation, said the federation maintained a busy performance schedule during the first six months of 2026, staging hundreds of shows while investing in new productions and expanding the use of digital technology in management and performances.

According to Thang, the federation launched a wide range of activities immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday. These included participating in the Golden Elephant International Circus Festival in Spain, performances in Quang Ninh Province and regular productions at the Central Circus Theatre.

Between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2026, the federation staged more than 200 performances for over 96,000 audience members, a 45.96% increase in the number of performances compared with the same period in 2025.

Despite the increase in performances, revenue during the first half of the year fell 6.56% year on year, reaching only 93.44% of the previous year's level.

Thang attributed the decline to increasingly intense competition from commercial entertainment programs and the rapid growth of digital content. Even so, he said the federation has no intention of scaling back its activities.

"If we reduce the number of performances to focus only on higher-revenue shows, artists will have fewer opportunities to perform and their performance-based income will also decline. The effectiveness of an arts organization cannot be measured solely by ticket revenue. More importantly, it lies in artistic quality, audience access, fulfillment of public service responsibilities and the livelihoods of our artists," Thang said.

Digital transformation goes beyond online videos

According to Thang, digital transformation is not simply about uploading videos to the internet. It requires changes in the way performances are organized, produced, promoted and monetized.

During this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, the federation plans to premiere Son Than Thuy Quai, scheduled to open on Sept. 24. The production will incorporate 3D mapping technology together with water jets and water-screen effects to create a more immersive performance environment.

The federation is also expanding its partnership with VTC to develop digital content, bringing circus performances to online audiences through multiple camera angles and new viewing experiences.

At the same time, it continues to preserve Vietnamese cultural identity through productions such as Du Non, Du Sen and De Kiem Tren Du, which combine traditional Vietnamese cultural elements with circus techniques.

An experimental production blending circus and cai luong, or southern Vietnamese reformed opera, titled Tran Nhan Tong, has also received positive audience feedback after around 12 performances.

"Large-scale productions can often only be staged in Hanoi. By presenting them on digital platforms with multiple camera angles, they can reach much wider audiences and offer a completely different experience from conventional recordings. We also aim to build an official digital content channel where every performance, rehearsal, backstage story and the professional lives of our artists become engaging content," Thang said.

He added that digitalization also allows the federation to collect audience data, monitor attendance rates and better understand audience demand, helping improve scheduling and service quality.

Building cultural industries through Vietnamese identity

Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW, issued by the Politburo on Jan. 7, 2026, places people at the center of development while recognizing culture as the nation's spiritual foundation, an endogenous resource and a source of soft power.

According to Thang, Vietnam's circus industry possesses an extensive archive of valuable materials and creative content.

If properly developed, digital content can both promote circus arts and generate additional revenue while providing audiences with a trusted platform to discover and enjoy performances. This, he said, reflects the mindset needed to develop cultural industries.

"Developing cultural industries cannot rely on producing individual performances for one-off events. We need to build complete value chains through collaboration among the arts, technology, media, tourism, design and supporting industries. Only then can we create productions with long-term performance potential, expand markets and generate cultural, educational, experiential and economic value," he said.

"Galloping Horses on the Frontier"

As part of the annual Walking Through the Years arts series, the circus production Galloping Horses on the Frontier will be staged at the Central Circus Theatre on July 24, 25 and 26 to commemorate the 79th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day.

The production pays tribute to officers and soldiers of the Vietnam Border Guard and the Vietnam People's Army.

Presented as a 90-minute multidisciplinary performance, the production portrays the close bond between border guards and ethnic minority communities living along Vietnam's frontiers.

Working alongside choreographer Do Thuy Hien, People's Artist and stage designer Nguyen Dat Tang, and music editors Do Huy Hung and Tien Thanh, the scriptwriter uses the language of circus to tell historical stories through emotion and artistic expression.

Tinh Le