A wide range of cultural activities have been held across Vietnam throughout this May within the framework of the "Europe Days 2014.”

This year’s "Europe Days” program has been kicked off by the concert featuring the Bavarian Youth Jazz Band from Germany on May 9 at the Hanoi Opera House at 11 Trang Tien Street in Hoan Kiem District. The concert will continue to enthrall the capital city tonight at 8pm also at the opera house before moving to the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House at 7 Cong Truong Lam Son in District 1 on May 11.

The trio Alicja Smietana from Poland will also join to cheer up the atmosphere with their performances at 8pm on May 28 at the Youth Theatre at 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung District.

The “European Literature Days” from May 22 to 25 at Goethe Institute at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in Ba Dinh District will be also an important part of the program. It will showcase bestseller novels from France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Sweden, as well as books for kids and teenager from Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy.

In addition, the “European Film Festival” will be organized in Vietnam’s three biggest cities – Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City – from May 16 to 19. The festival will feature 14 films of various genres, including romance, drama, animation, action, thriller, and comedy. Most of the films screened are recent and have gained growing acclaim, notably by being selected in international film festivals and having won awards all over the world. All the films will be screened with Vietnamese subtitles.

The "Europe Days 2014” will also have several seminars, including a series of seminars to promote better understanding of the European Union and the importance of the Vietnam-EU relations in Hue from May 12 to 13 and Ha Long from May 15 to 16, the "Enhancing VN-EU Trade & Investment Relations" seminar in HCMC on May 13, a series of EU Ambassador's talks with Vietnamese students named "Reaching Out to Youth" in Dak Lak on May 19,  a round table discussion titled "Vietnam: Where are female driver and male nannies?" in Hanoi on May 26, and public lectures "The Ukraine Crisis and the Response by Major Powers" in Hanoi on May 26 and HCMC on May 28.

Moreover, a photo exhibition titled “Lost & Found” about Hanoi is being held at the Hanoi Goethe-Institut until May 18, while the European Union Youth Football Cup will be held in Hanoi on May 24 as well as the award ceremony for the “Short Video Making Contest on Energy Saving” will also take place in the capital city on May 28.

The first edition of the European Union's annual "Europe Days" program was introduced in Vietnam in 2004. Over the past ten years, the one-month program, including entertaining and intellectual events jointly organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, the Embassies of the European Union Member States and the European Cultural Centres in Vietnam, has gained a prominent place in Vietnam's cultural agenda, attracting many thousands every year.

Tickets for all the events are free. More information can be found at www.europeday2014.com or www.Facebook.com/EUandVietnam.