The best photos selected from the 2010 Vietnam International Photo Contest will be displayed for a week in Hanoi as from August 1.

The event, co-organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA) and the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), was part of several activities to mark the 30^th FIAP Congress held in Vietnam from August 1-8 and to celebrate the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Le Tien Tho, said this was the first time Vietnam has hosted such a big international photo exhibition with the participation of numerous overseas photographers’ associations. It was also a good opportunity for Vietnam to meet and learn from international photographers, as well as introduce the Vietnamese people and country, especially the thousand-year old capital of Hanoi.

At the contest, Vietnam won many top prizes, including a gold medal in the black-and-white category, a cup for under-16 photographers and a gold medal for photographers between 16-21 years old.

658 photographs by photographers from 42 countries and territories were submitted to the contest, which had five-member panel of judges, including one from Sweden, Singapore and China.