Local singers Trong Tan and Anh Tho, who have been allowed to be back on stage after being briefly banned due to their abandoning last month’s diplomatic show in Laos, performed at a charity event in Hanoi yesterday.

At the event titled “Bringing Music to Hospitals” which was their first show after the prohibition, Tan shared he wants to encourage the patients in the struggle with diseases while Tho said singing at charity events is the best way for artists to bring music to the audiences who cannot come to theaters due to their health conditions.

The show held by the youth union of the Ministry of Health with the hope that music can help to ease the pain for patients in hospitals at the Central Ear-Nose-Throat Hospital of Hanoi also saw the participation of a number of other local singers including Thai Thuy Linh and Le Viet Anh.

The event offered 100 free meals as well as donated VND19 million (US$910), including VND9 million for 3 disadvantaged patients and the remaining for the hospital.

Before coming to the Central Ear-Nose-Throat Hospital of Hanoi, the event has been held for 17 times in several hospitals in cities around the country, bring a little joy to people who have to spend their time on the hospitals’ beds.

Tan and Tho had been banned since July 21 after they refused to perform at an event to celebrate the Year of Unity and the signing of a Friendship Treaty between Vietnam and Laos on July 18.

As scheduled, the two singers had performances in Vientiane from July 17 to 19. After a successful concert on July 17, they were supposed to stay in Laos to perform on the next day. However, the two decided to return to Vietnam, saying they had signed a contract to perform in Ninh Binh province on July 18.

On August 10, the Performing Arts Department announced that the ban was lifted since the two artists have expressed regret, calling it a wrong decision and an unforgettable and painful experience.