Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 won 2 Gold Awards IBA 2025

The 2024 Ho Chi Minh City River Festival was honored with 02 Gold Awards at the 22nd International Business Awards (IBA) in 2025: Gold Award in the Arts, Entertainment and Public Festival category and the Opening Art Show "Legendary Train" won the Gold Award in the Cultural Event category. This is a special milestone, making the Festival one of the few events in Vietnam to achieve double international achievements.

Art performance at the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City River Festival

IBA is one of the most prestigious awards in the world under the American Stevie Awards system, considered the "Oscars of the economic field" by the New York Post. After 22 seasons, the 2025 season attracted more than 3,800 nominations from 78 countries and territories, bringing together the competition of thousands of organizations, businesses, corporations, brands and leading agencies worldwide.

The IBA 2025 Awards Ceremony will be held solemnly on October 10, 2025 in Portugal.

The River Festival has received many compliments from the International Business Awards jury, highly appreciating both its strategic vision and its strong impact. "The Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 stands out as a pioneering model that harmoniously combines heritage, tourism and economic development. Its impressive scale, inspiring storytelling and diverse range of activities have transformed the urban identity of Ho Chi Minh City into a leading cultural and commercial convergence point in the region."

• "Legendary train" and a series of exciting events await visitors at the 2nd Ho Chi Minh City River Festival

• Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 has the theme "Legendary Train"

• Ho Chi Minh City River Festival raised to international level

This victory not only affirms the strategic steps, professionalism and efficiency in developing new tourism products of Ho Chi Minh City, but also contributes to enhancing the image of the City as a leading cultural and festival tourism destination in the region.

The Gold Award at the International Business Awards 2025 is not only the pride of the River Festival, but also an important step in the journey of integration on the international tourism map. From the flow of culture and history, the city has created a festival with contemporary vitality, connecting the community and opening the door to integration.

This success will certainly be the 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 only an annual event, but also a driving force to enhance the city's image in the eyes of domestic and international tourists, while making a practical contribution to the goal of stimulating tourism and promoting economic development.

Drone performance simulating the historic train - Amiral Latouche-Tréville at the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival

Impressive results - A strong boost for tourism and economy

Launched in 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival was initiated as a strategic mark of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, to honor cultural and historical values ​​and build a brand of a river city rich in identity.

The highlight of the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival is the grand opening musical "The Legendary Train", recreating the journey from a small trading port to a modern metropolis, where rivers and canals always play a central role in trade and culture. The opening night was attended by leaders of the Party, State, Government, leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, provinces and cities, along with nearly 9,000 live audiences and tens of millions of online viewers.

The show consists of 5 chapters, bringing together nearly 1,000 actors, artisans, directors, and leading artists, combining folk and contemporary arts, music, dance, lighting, cinema, and modern technology. The program recreates historical milestones associated with the Saigon River, from the first ships, the Amiral Latouche-Tréville ship with the image of the patriotic young man Nguyen Tat Thanh leaving Nha Rong Port to fulfill his ambition of national liberation, the resounding battles, to the journey of bringing the Vietnamese brand to the world, contributing to evoking pride, love of history, and inspiration to explore the City. During the 10 days, the Festival also brings many river sports and cultural activities such as: River Swimming Championship, Open SUP Tournament, flyboard performance, sailboat parade, along with cultural and culinary spaces typical of the South, a program to stimulate waterway tourism and connect with provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta and Southeast regions...

The Closing Night with the theme "Ho Chi Minh City - Sparkling singing river" made a strong impression with 1,100 drones. The spectacular light show in the sky affirmed the brand of the River Festival, conveying the message of a dynamic, modern, colorful and rich city.

During the 10-day period, the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 recorded more than 4.5 million participants, with a total of 1,301 million visitors to the city, including 121,000 international visitors. Tourism revenue is estimated at VND4,250 billion. Accommodation room occupancy in District 1 increased by 20% compared to normal, while waterway tourism businesses recorded an average growth of 20% during the festival and continued to maintain at 25-40% thereafter.

Many famous tourist attractions also achieved remarkable growth, such as Cu Chi Tunnels increased by 423%, Ho Chi Minh Museum increased by 103%. The festival also created a strong media effect with 4,435 news and articles (including 1,534 articles from international press), more than 43 million interactions on social networks, and a visual communication system on tens of thousands of LED and LCD screens across the country, reaching about 750 million people.

In particular, with nearly 100 participating businesses, the Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 is not only an event to honor heritage, but also becomes a driving force to promote economy, culture and affirm the position of the City as a dynamic, creative and unique destination.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/le-hoi-song-nuoc-thanh-pho-ho-chi-minh-nam-2024-doat-2-giai-vang-iba-2025-20250929101617596.htm