Press Release No.1 about The 12th Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2026
PRESS RELEASE NO. 1
Ho Chi Minh City to Host the 12th Ao Dai Festival 2026 “Golden Threads – Weaving Aspirations”, Celebrating Vietnamese Heritage Across March
Ho Chi Minh City, March 01, 2026 – Toward the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Saigon – Gia Dinh officially being named after President Ho Chi Minh (July 02, 1976 – July 02, 2026), the 1986th anniversary of the Hai Ba Trung Uprising, and the 116th anniversary of International Women’s Day (March 8), the 12th Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2026—hosted by Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Union, in coordination with relevant agencies—will take place under the theme “Golden Threads – Weaving Aspirations,” from March 01 through March 31, 2026 (peak days: March 06 – 08, 2026) at the President Ho Chi Minh Monument Park, Nguyen Hue Walking Street, the Export Showroom at 92 – 96 Nguyen Hue (Saigon Ward), Metro Line No. 1 stations, and across the network of historical-cultural sites, tourist attractions, hotels, and iconic landmarks throughout the new Ho Chi Minh City area.
After 11 editions, the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival has grown into one of the city’s signature cultural and tourism event of the City, becoming a familiar March rendezvous where the Vietnamese Ao Dai is honored as a vivid symbol of national identity. Beyond a fashion showcase, the Festival has helped embed the Ao Dai deeply in social life—from offices and schools to community and diplomatic activities—while promoting the image of a dynamic, integrated, creative, and culturally rich Ho Chi Minh City.
The festival not only celebrates the aesthetic value and cultural depth of the Vietnamese Ao Dai, but is also positioned as a distinctive festival tourism product during the March peak season—stimulating domestic and international travel demand, increasing visitor spending, extending length of stay, and strengthening Ho Chi Minh City’s destination brand on the global tourism map.
AO DAI – A CULTURAL SYMBOL AND SOFT POWER IN A NEW ERA
The year 2026 carries special significance as it marks 50 years of the City bearing Uncle Ho’s name, reflects on 40 years of Doi Moi (1986 – 2026), and opens the 2026 – 2030 development phase with aspirations for strength and prosperity. In that flow, the Ao Dai is not only a traditional costume, but also a symbol of continuity, innovation, and integration.
Over more than a decade, the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival has played an important role in preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, while generating positive socio-economic impacts. The Festival boosts the fashion and tourism service industries; expands cooperation opportunities for businesses; creates livelihoods for artisans, designers, and communities; thereby affirming culture as a driver of sustainable development.
In 2026, the Ao Dai carries an even greater mission as, for the first time, the Festival is organized within the space of the new Ho Chi Minh City—a multi-centered, modern mega-urban area rich in identity. The Ao Dai becomes a bridge connecting tradition and future, heritage and vibrant urban life.
“GOLDEN THREADS – WEAVING ASPIRATIONS” – A SYMPHONY OF A GLORIOUS PAST AND A BRILLIANT FUTURE
The 2026 theme is inspired by the image of the “golden thread” – the quintessential origin of Vietnamese silk and brocade. Soft yet resilient, the thread symbolizes the timeless flow of heritage, the perseverance of traditional craft villages, and the indomitable spirit of the nation.
In the dynamic rhythm of today’s Ho Chi Minh City, “golden threads” represent not only a refined past, but also the cultural undercurrent flowing through a modern metropolis—connecting the heritage values of former Saigon – Gia Dinh – Cho Lon – Binh Duong – Ba Ria – Vung Tau with the radiant image of a new city today. “Weaving aspirations” symbolizes the limitless creativity of the city’s people—where each Ao Dai carries national pride and the ambition for a strong and prosperous Vietnam.
The image of golden threads interwoven with the Ao Dai—graceful yet powerful—becomes a metaphor for the City’s transformation and breakthrough in the era of integration. For Ho Chi Minh City tourism, every Ao Dai appearing on the streets, in exhibition spaces, or at historical sites is a “living cultural ambassador” —promoting a friendly, identity-rich destination and inviting international visitors to touch the soul of Vietnam.
Each program, collection, and activity within the Festival is a “thread” contributing to weaving a vibrant tourism silk named Vietnam—where Ho Chi Minh City serves as the shuttle connecting tradition to aspiration, turning heritage into a launchpad for higher ambitions and elevating the beauty of the Ao Dai on the global tourism map.
OPENING CEREMONY – “THE COCOON TRANSFORMS INTO A BUTTERFLY” AND A JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION
The Opening Ceremony will take place on the evening of 06/3/2026 at Nguyen Hue Walking Street, built around the image of a central “silk cocoon” – a symbol of convergence, nurturing, and transformation.
From shimmering golden threads, the cocoon gradually forms as a hidden phase—where traditional values are cultivated over time. When the cocoon opens, Ao Dai collections emerge as narratives of Vietnam’s cultural journey. And when the “cocoon transforms into a butterfly,” it becomes a metaphor for sublimation and the nation’s powerful transformation in a new era.
This year’s Festival gathers 37 designers from the North – Central – South regions, nearly 400 Ao Dai designs, 600 performers and models, and 37 ambassadors from various fields, creating a vibrant panorama of creative convergence.
MASS FOLK DANCE AND AO DAI PARADE – CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY, HONORING IDENTITY
On the morning of March 08, 2026, the commemorative program marking the 1986th anniversary of the Hai Ba Trung Uprising and the 116th anniversary of International Women’s Day—combined with a mass folk dance performance in Vietnamese Ao Dai and an Ao Dai Parade—will gather approximately 50,000 participants across the City, including around 3,000 on Nguyen Hue Walking Street. The image of tens of thousands wearing Ao Dai will not only create an impressive scale but also embody solidarity, pride, and the spirit of Vietnamese women in the 50th anniversary year of the City bearing Uncle Ho’s name.
EXHIBITION SPACE – “AO DAI AND METRO” AND EXPERIENCE SHOWROOM
The Ao Dai exhibition and interactive space will be organized at Nguyen Hue Walking Street, featuring artistic installations and display areas linking the Ao Dai with tourism, cuisine, and handicrafts distinctive to the City. The Ao Dai will also be present at Ben Thanh Metro Station and Opera House Metro Station. Visitors can tour, take photos, and directly experience the beauty of the Ao Dai within the central urban space.
The “Ao Dai and Metro” journey connects experiential tourism destinations via the urban metro line. At Ben Thanh Metro Station, visitors can take photos with decorative letter installations combined with Ao Dai imagery arranged within the station area; then travel to Opera House Metro Station and continue to Nguyen Hue Walking Street to visit the central exhibition space.
In addition, the Export Showroom at 92 – 96 Nguyen Hue, Saigon Ward, will be designed as a free Ao Dai experience space where visitors can try on Ao Dai, take commemorative photos, and learn about the historical development of the Ao Dai through different periods. The activity takes place from 06 to 08 March 2026.
A JOURNEY OF SPREADING FROM ART TO COMMUNITY
The 12th Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2026 features 17 main activities throughout March, creating a vibrant journey where the Ao Dai appears not only on artistic stages but also spreads strongly into community life, urban spaces, and tourism activities.
Following the Opening Night with the artistic image “Cocoon Transforms into Butterfly,” on the evening of March 07, 2026, the Ao Dai Art Program at Nguyen Hue Walking Street will continue to inspire creativity, aesthetic orientation, and the application of Ao Dai in modern life. On 08/3/2026, alongside the large-scale mass performance, the Final Round of the “Graceful Ao Dai Ho Chi Minh City” Contest will take place with teams from the City Women’s Union representing 168 wards, communes, and Con Dao Special Zone; during the program, the Organizing Committee will also award the Online Beautiful Ao Dai Photo Contest launched from January to March 2026.
In parallel, the Children’s Ao Dai Drawing Contest (March 07 – 15, 2026) for approximately 500 students aged 9 to 18 across the City, along with the talkshow “Ao Dai among Consuls General, Spouses of Consuls General, and International Students Studying in Ho Chi Minh City” on March 18, 2026 at the Ao Dai Museum, will create a series of creative, exchange, and community-connecting activities.
From creative contests, art programs, parades, talkshows, exhibitions to community activities and tourism stimulus programs, each component is a “thread” with its own nuance; woven together, they form a harmonious whole—affirming the Ao Dai as both a cultural symbol and a distinctive tourism product of the City.
SERIES OF ACTIVITIES “ACCOMPANYING VIETNAMESE AO DAI” AND “LOVING AO DAI”
From early February to the end of March 2026, the “Accompanying Vietnamese Ao Dai” series will be implemented citywide, bringing the Ao Dai deeper into daily life. The City launches a peak Ao Dai wearing week from March 02 – 08, 2026; mobilizes tailors, fabric and accessory businesses to join promotional programs; encourages travel agencies and hotels to develop products linked to the Festival; and implements policies for free or discounted entrance tickets for visitors wearing Ao Dai.
From January to the end of March 2026, the “Loving Ao Dai” program calls for donations of Ao Dai and fabric to tailor Ao Dai, presenting them to women union members and female workers in difficult circumstances at export processing zones, industrial parks, and suburban areas—so that the Ao Dai becomes a symbol of sharing and compassion.
Notably, during the peak period of the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2026, the 11th Vietnam – Japan Festival 2026 will take place on March 07 – 08, 2026 at 23/9 Park under the theme “Holding Hands Together, Children – Earth – Future”. Within the event framework, the Organizing Committee launched an Ao Dai Design Contest for students studying at fashion technical colleges, vocational schools, and universities in Japan. Among many creative and impressive works, the design “Lantern” by Momomi Miyazaki (宮崎ももみ) won First Prize. The author will be invited to attend the 11th Vietnam – Japan Festival and receive the award at the Opening Ceremony. The winning design will also be completed into an actual Ao Dai product and displayed at the festival space.
The participation of young Japanese designers in creating on the foundation of the Vietnamese Ao Dai not only strengthens the friendship between the two nations but also vividly demonstrates the cultural and tourism exchange between two identity-rich peoples. This also evidences the increasingly strong influence of the Vietnamese Ao Dai within the international community, especially in Japan.
A GOLDEN MARCH – ASPIRATIONS TO RISE
With 17 main activities and numerous responsive programs across the City, the 12th Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2026 continues to affirm its role as a symbolic and distinctive festival tourism product during the March peak season.
From artistic spaces to community life, from fashion runways to the modern metro line, from the central stage to 168 wards and communes, each activity is a “thread” contributing to weaving a vibrant cultural tapestry where tradition and modernity blend into a unified whole.
In March 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will wear its most radiant garment—the garment of memory, resilience, and aspirations to soar high and far with the world./.
The Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival is an annual cultural event honoring the beauty of the Vietnamese Ao Dai, affirming traditional values, and spreading love for the Ao Dai in modern life. The event attracts thousands of participants and increasingly affirms its position as one of the City’s outstanding cultural activities.
Contributing to the success of the 2026 Ao Dai Festival is the sponsorship of: Official Accommodation Sponsor – Saigontourist Group; Gift Sponsors including: Bon Spa System – Beauty Mom & Baby Care – Women’s Health & Beauty Care Spa for Mothers and Babies; Nguyen Xuan Herbal Shampoo Brand – Hoa Linh Pharmaceutical Company; Ho Tram Project Company Limited; Foody Joint Stock Company; Nonla Vietnam Global Company Limited; Hoang Gia Pearl Joint Stock Company; Media Sponsor: GOADS Media Technology Joint Stock Company.
Official press releases and images of the “12th Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2026” are updated at the link: https://bit.ly/4aAcSHF and the following QR code:
Official Information Channels:
* Ho Chi Minh City Tourism:
– Website: www.visithcmc.vn
– Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/visitvibranthochiminhcity
– Ao Dai Festival Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/lehoiaodai
– Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/visit.hochiminhcity/
– Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City Tiktok Channel: https://www.tiktok.com/@visithcmc
– YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@vibrantHoChiMinhcity
* Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Union:
– Website: https://phunu.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/
– Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/HLHPNTPHCM
Press Contact Information:
Ms. Ha Phuong Mai
Tourism Promotion Services Division, Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism
Mobile: +84962251617 | Email: hpmai.sdl@tphcm.gov.vn
