Press Release: Ho Chi Minh City River Festival Wins 02 IBA 2025 Gold Awards – Proud of Vietnam’s Position on the International Creative Map
The Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 brought great pride to the City when it was simultaneously honored with 02 Gold Awards at the 22nd International Business Awards (IBA) in 2025. Specifically, the Festival received a Gold Award in the Art, Entertainment & Public – Festival category, and the Opening Art Program “The Legendary Train” also won a Gold Award in the Cultural Event category. This is a special milestone, making the Festival one of the few events in Vietnam to achieve dual international recognition. The IBA 2025 awards ceremony will be solemnly held on October 10, 2025, in Portugal.
IBA is one of the most prestigious awards in the world under the US-based Stevie Awards system, dubbed the “Oscars for Business” by the New York Post. After 22 seasons, the 2025 awards attracted over 3,800 nominations from 78 countries and territories, bringing together thousands of leading global organizations, businesses, corporations, brands, and agencies to compete.
According to the process, the IBA judging panel, consisting of at least 5 members, evaluated the entries based on four strict criteria:
- Rationale
- Objectives
- Implementation Methods
- Results & Real-world Impact
The River Festival received high praise from the International Business Awards judging panel, who highly appreciated both its strategic vision and strong widespread impact. “The Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 stands out as a pioneering model harmoniously combining heritage, tourism, and economic development. Its impressive scale, inspiring storytelling, and diverse range of activities have transformed Ho Chi Minh City’s riverine urban identity into a leading cultural and commercial hub in the region.”
This victory not only affirms Ho Chi Minh City’s strategic moves, professionalism, and effectiveness in developing new tourism products, but also helps elevate the City’s image as a leading cultural and festival tourism destination in the region.
Highlight Activities at the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival
Launched in 2023, the River Festival was initiated as a strategic hallmark by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, aiming to honor cultural and historical values and build a unique riverine urban brand.
The highlight of the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is the grand opening musical drama “The Legendary Train”, which recreates the journey from a small trading port to a modern metropolis, where rivers and canals have always played a central role in trade and culture. The opening night was attended by leaders of the Party, State, Government, Ho Chi Minh City leaders, provinces, and cities, along with nearly 9,000 direct spectators and tens of millions of online viewers.
The performance consists of 5 acts, bringing together nearly 1,000 top actors, artisans, directors, and artists, combining folk and contemporary art, music, dance drama, light, cinema, and modern technology. The program recreates historical milestones associated with the Saigon River, from the first sea vessels, the ship Amiral Latouche-Tréville with the image of patriotic youth Nguyen Tat Thanh leaving Nha Rong Port to fulfill his aspiration of national liberation, resounding battles, to the journey of bringing Vietnamese brands to the world, contributing to evoking pride, love for history, and inspiration to explore the City. During its 10-day run, the Festival also offers many riverine sports and cultural activities such as: River Swimming Championship, Open SUP Competition, flyboard performances, sailboat parades, along with cultural and culinary spaces typical of the Southern region, a waterway tourism stimulus program, and linkages with provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta and Southeast region…
The Closing Night, themed “Ho Chi Minh City – Sparkling River Sings”, made a strong impression with 1,100 unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). The spectacular light show in the sky affirmed the brand of the River Festival, conveying a message about a dynamic, modern, colorful, and culturally rich city.
Impressive Results – A Powerful Boost for Tourism and Economy
Over its 10-day duration, the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 recorded over 4.5 million participants, with a total of 1.301 million visitors to the City, including 121,000 international guests. Tourism revenue was estimated at 4,250 billion VND. Accommodation occupancy in District 1 increased by 20% compared to normal, while waterway tourism businesses saw an average growth of 20% during the festival and continued to maintain levels of 25–40% afterwards.
Many famous tourist attractions also achieved outstanding growth, such as Cu Chi Tunnels increasing by 423% and Ho Chi Minh Museum by 103%. The Festival also generated a strong media effect with 4,435 news articles and reports (including 1,534 from international press), over 43 million interactions on social media, along with an outdoor visual communication system on tens of thousands of LED and LCD screens nationwide, reaching approximately 750 million people.
Notably, with nearly 100 participating businesses, the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 is not just an event honoring heritage, but also a driving force for economic and cultural development, affirming the City’s position as a dynamic, creative, and culturally rich destination.
Proud of Vietnam’s Position on the International Creative Map
The Gold Award at the International Business Awards 2025 is not only a source of pride for the River Festival, but also an important step forward in its journey of integration on the international tourism map. From its cultural and historical currents, the city has created a festival imbued with contemporary vitality, connecting communities and opening doors for integration.
This success will undoubtedly be a driving force for Ho Chi Minh City to continue developing the River Festival as a unique cultural product, constantly innovating with breakthrough ideas, so that each festival season is not just an annual event, but also an impetus to enhance the city’s image in the eyes of domestic and international tourists, while making practical contributions to the goal of stimulating tourism and promoting economic development.
The 3rd Ho Chi Minh City River Festival in 2025
Building on its success, the 3rd Ho Chi Minh City River Festival in 2025 will take place from November 29 to December 31, 2025, at various locations across Ho Chi Minh City (in areas with geographical positions connected to the sea, rivers, and canals suitable for tourism promotion, such as Nha Rong Khanh Hoi area – Saigon Port, Bach Dang Park, Saigon Riverfront Park, Ngo Sao Viet Pier, Binh Dong Pier, Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal, Binh Duong Ward, Vung Tau Ward, other tourist areas and destinations…). The Festival promises a vibrant and colorful festive picture with a series of unique cultural, artistic, and sporting activities, notably including a large-scale opening art program, spectacular firework displays, a lively “On the Wharf, Under the Boat” space, multi-sensory exhibitions combined with creative miniature model decorations, along with many street art programs and exciting carnival parades. Alongside these will be water sports activities, traditional boat races, a food festival rich in riverine flavors, and an impressive closing ceremony featuring light model boat performances. The Festival will also be linked with waterway tourism stimulus activities, shopping promotions, discounted performance tickets, and regional linkage programs, creating an attractive cultural and tourism event that draws a large number of local residents and domestic and international tourists to activities rich in riverine identity, organized throughout the newly merged Ho Chi Minh City…
Notably, the Opening Art Program “Bridge Through Time” – continues to be positioned as a highly anticipated SIGNATURE SHOW for the public and a crucial highlight of this year’s Festival, featuring an artistic journey connecting Ho Chi Minh City’s past, present, and future through an immersive musical drama stage combining cinema, music, dance, circus, magic, and modern performance technology with a science fiction theme. This is not only a tribute on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, the 80th anniversary of the successful August Revolution (August 19, 1945 – August 19, 2025), and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 – September 2, 2025), but also an affirmation of Ho Chi Minh City’s vision and aspiration for sustainable development in the new era.
