CULTURE AND SPORT

The Vietnam U-19 football team will challenge themselves at the 2014 Southeast Asian (SEA) U-19 Championship, hosted in Vietnam from September 5-13, which is considered a perfect warm-up for the team ahead of their Asian U-19 finals campaign.

Ho Chi Minh City will hold a 15-minute firework show on the night of September 2 to mark the 69th anniversary of Vietnamese National Day.

Hanoi is set to light up the sky by a fireworks display at 31 venues throughout the capital city on October 10 to mark its 60th liberation anniversary.

More than 600 athletes from nearly 30 countries and territories took part in an international marathon competition in the central city of Danang on August 31.

Twenty drivers gathered their specially modified stock cars at the starting line of the country’s largest off-road race, which kicked off the holiday week-end on Aug 30 and runs until Sep 2, in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong.

A film by 32-year-old Vietnamese director Nguyen Hoang Diep entitled “Dap canh giu khong trung” (Flapping in the middle of Nowhere) is poised to compete at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival taking place from September 9-14.

Circus artists from the Vietnam Circus Federation will debut a special show dedicated to children on August 30.

The organiser of the two liveshows of singer Khanh Ly has agreed to pay music copyright fees of VND250 million after ministerial authorities got involved.

The Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Open 2014 is set to get underway in Ho Chi Minh City on September 1, the organizing board announced on August 27.

Many Vietnamese, including celebrities, have been taking on the Ice Bucket Challenge to help raise awareness and funds to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS.

Vissai Ninh Binh FC’s 1-0 win over Hong Kong league champions Leg Kitchee on the second leg match on August 26 could not help the Vietnamese Cup holders enter the semi-finals of AFC Cup 2014 due to their 2-4

The 2014 national singing contest for the disabled was launched for the first time on August 25, aiming to offer a playground for people with disabilities across the nation to affirm their intelligence and talents.

A Gala Dinner in Rome, Italy, on August 23 introduced two new collections of Vietnamese fashion designer Do Trinh Hoai Nam consisting of 40 designs inspired by the natural landscape of Vietnam and the nation’s devotion to peace.

Experts have estimated that up to 70% of professional Vietnamese singers lack knowledge of music theory and the trend is growing.

Musician Phu Quang announced that he will stop cooperating with the Vietnam Centre for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC).

Twenty six ca tru (ceremonial singing) troupes from across the nation will gather at a festival hosted by the Vietnam Institute of Musicology from August 26-29 in Hanoi.

Famous French pianist Richard Claydermann arrived at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport this morning, August 22, to a very warm reception by his fans.

The Young Art Festival 2014, which was opened on August 20 in Hanoi, has attracted the participation of many talented artists.

Cultural and historical sites in Vietnam have been encouraged to remove stone statues of strange animals and replace them with more "traditional" objects.