The Prime Minister issued on February 9 an official telegram on the management and organization of festivals across the country, especially in the beginning of the year.

The telegram stated that over past years, the management and organization of festivals have made progress, contributing to protecting and promoting the cultural heritage value, increasing people’s spiritual lives and promoting the development of the service and tourism sectors. However, recently, the organization of festivals has revealed negative phenomena, including organization of festivals becoming stretched, poor responsibility of managers and participants, superstition, the violation of the environment, and the commercialization of some festivals. This has reduced the existing true value and cultural identity of many festivals.

Therefore, to improve the management and organization of festivals, the Prime Minister asked ministries and agencies to claim responsibility over the program and organization of the festivals. The invitation list of key guests must be agreed to by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Prime Minister also requested ministries and People’s Committee to increase the inspection and prevention of negative phenomena.

He asked for improved planning for security and safety, with no fires or traffic jams, in large-scale festivals.

He urged news agencies to focus on promoting the beauty of traditional culture during festivals.

Vietnam Government’s Portal (VGP) reported that according to statistics by folk culture researchers, Vietnam has nearly 500 traditional festivals which are held throughout the year, in accordance with the four seasons.