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.

In recent years, at many festivals and events in Hue city, Phan Huy Thanh has impressed music lovers with his distinctive songs composed and sung by the musician himself, such as Non (The Conical Hat), An gi o Hue? (What to Eat in Hue), Tu dien Co do (The Ancient Capital Dictionary), etc.

On the evening of July 8th, at Hue City Center for Culture and Cinema, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with Hue City People's Committee, held the closing ceremony of the 2026 Three-Region Folk Instrumental Music and Folk Singing Festival. During the ceremony, the organizing committee presented numerous awards to outstanding artistic ensembles, individuals, performances, and programs.

On the evening of July 4, at the City Cinema and Culture Center, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with Hue City People’s Committee, held the opening ceremony of the 2026 “Playing folk musical instruments and singing folk songs from the three regions” Festival.

From mega music festivals attracting thousands of young audiences to community arts programs spreading across social media, Hue is revealing a new face as a heritage city.

Moving beyond ceremonial settings and enclosed stages within heritage spaces, Hue International Music Week 2026, a highlight of Hue Festival 2026, is designed to engage the wider community through music.

On the evening of May 25, the Organizing Committee of Hue Festival 2026 held a press conference to kick off the Hue International Music Week 2026, a highlight of the Summer Festival - featuring the participation of 8 domestic and international art troupes, along with many renowned singers.

As part of Hue Festival 2026, Hue International Music Week 2026 will take place from June 13 to 18 on the riverside stage along the Huong River, in front of Quoc Hoc Hue High School for the Gifted. The event is expected to become a major highlight of the Summer Festival, bringing together artists, dance troupes, and art troupes from Vietnam and many countries around the world.

At cultural festivals, exchange events, or student programs in Hue, it is not uncommon to see young people dressed in Japanese attire, moving in synchronized formations to vibrant music. They are members of Mirai Yosakoi Club, a yosakoi dance team comprised of students from the Faculty of Japanese Language & Culture, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University.

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…”)