The 2026 National Health Exercise Championship and National Health Exercise Festival officially opened on the morning of July 31 at Canh Buom Sports Arena (100 Pham Van Dong Street). The event is part of Hue Sports Festival 2026 and marks the first time Hue has hosted the national competition.

On the afternoon of July 23rd, Hue Festival Organizing Committee held a press conference to announce Hue Wonderverse Music Fest 2026 - International Heritage and Music Festival. The event marks the first time Hue introduces a festival designed to develop into an annual international cultural and music festival IP, contributing to the growth of the cultural industries and promoting the image of the Ancient Capital.

For the first time, Bun bo Hue (Hue beef noodle soup) will be celebrated through a nationwide festival. Featuring more than 80 food stalls, live culinary demonstrations serving hundreds of visitors, a stage production recounting the dish's more than 400-year history, and a variety of interactive experiences, these will turn Thuong Bac Park to become a gathering place for food enthusiasts from July 23rd to 26th.

For the very first time, Hue City will host the Hue Wonderverse Fest 2026 - an International Music and Heritage Festival envisioned to develop into an intellectual property (IP) annual cultural and music festival of the city.

For the first time, when sailboats appeared on the waters of Lang Co Bay, they brought a fresh new image to Hue’s coastal tourism. Beyond serving as a highlight in a series of events promoting the value of one of the world’s most beautiful bays, the sailing determination has also opened up new opportunities for developing modern marine sports.

On the morning of June 6, as part of the series of activities under “Lang Co - World Beautiful Bay 2026”, a sailing performance on the Bay’s waters was held for the first time.

The annual April 30th reunion of our middle school friends from Thanh Thuy Ward had a special highlight this year. Before heading to Vinh Thanh beach (Phu Vinh Commune), we made a detour to visit the Thuan An overpass bridge on the very day of its official technical opening. There, we shared in the joy of a large crowd of local residents who were seeing this modern bridge with their own eyes for the first time after years of waiting.

In the artistic space of Boi Tran Garden during the final days of March, an exhibition was held for the first time that was not only a source of inspiration for artists alone. For the art-loving public, it felt like a grand masterpiece - one that harmoniously blends people with nature.

In 2000, in the short piece entitled “Hue Diary,” written when he returned for the first Hue Festival, musician Trinh Cong Son wrote, “When you have a place to return, or to visit from time to time, you are very fortunate. There, you have a river, a mountain, and you can find again your old friends whose hair used to be black has now turned grey. You might suddenly meet a Hue girl on the street and ask her, ‘Is there anything new in Hue now?’ And immediately, or perhaps by chance, she will recite the two lines from a poem by Bui Giang: “Da thua xu Hue bay gio/ Van con nui Ngu ben bo song Huong” (“Yes, sir, Hue now/ Still has Ngu Mount by the Huong river…”)

For Hue, the Year of the Horse not only opens a new cycle of time, but also marks the first year of implementing the Resolution of the 17th City Party Congress, a starting point for a five-year journey carrying a great aspiration: Hue accelerates rapidly yet sustainably, with a profound sense of identity.