performers than ever, according to festival founder and organiser Nguyen
Nga.
Nga, an overseas Vietnamese living in
France , is busy completing final preparations for the festival, to be
entitled Dragon Bridge .
The festival will be
closed to motor vehicle traffic and will become an outdoor art gallery,
featuring an exhibition of contemporary arts, including paintings by
disabled children and children affected by Agent Orange, as well as
woodblock art and a collection of kites by artisans from Hanoi and the
northern province of Hai Duong.
The festival
will also feature an exhibition of photographs, documents and other
artefacts depicting national defence over the past 10 centuries.
Throughout the length of the 1,682m bridge, it will be divided into ten
sections representing the 10 centuries (1010-2010) of Hanoi , each
section brought to life by diverse art forms, antiquities and costumes,
representing the lifestyles of the people of the time.
" Long Bien Bridge is alive," said Nga. "It's not only in the
memory of Hanoians, but it is also the bridge of the resistance, the
bridge of pains and sufferings, the bridge of happiness, the bridge of
loves, and the bridge of peace and freedom.
"It's
the flesh and the blood of the Hanoians, an umbilical cord between past
and present, between Hanoi , the country, and the world."
For the festival, the bridge will be divided into three areas. The
eastbound side of the bridge (the northern span) will become the
Bridge of Memories and will symbolise people of courage. The
eastbound side (the southern span) will be decorated with the flags of
70 countries and territories and animated by street performers.
Symbolising peace and friendship, this side will be called "The Bridge
of Dreams".
The highlight of the festival will be a
concert and light show on the bridge on Nov. 21, to be broadcast live on
television. Two musical pieces composed by French musicians as gifts
for the Long Bien Festival – On the Long Bien Bridge and See Hanoi –
will be presented by artists from Vietnam National Academy of Music and
the Flonflons troupe from France and Belgium .
The festival's general director, People's Artist Le Hung, said, "The
designer of Long Bien Bridge is also the designer of the Eiffel
Tower , which is a world-famous tourist attraction, so why we can't
turn Long Bien Bridge into a bridge for tourism? The festival
was initiated with that goal in mind, so I agreed to be the general
director of the event."
During the event, the organising board will also raise funds for flood victims in the central region./.
