The 20th World Police Band Concert takes place in Ho Chi Minh City on November 14 and 15, featuring over 200 police officers from Japan, the U.S., Singapore and Vietnam.

The event welcomes police officers from the Vietnamese National Police Agency, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the Osaka Prefectural Police, the Singapore Force Police, and the New York City Police Department.

Hundreds of Vietnamese people, tourists and expats on November 14 overflowed Dong Khoi - Ton Duc Thang - Nguyen Hue Streets to see the parade of 219 police officers with colorful clothes, flags, and professional, impressive performances.

The parade started at around 8:30 am, right after the opening ceremony at 8:00 am at the Municipal Theater in District 1.

Alicia Clark, a U.S. tourist who came to Ho Chi Minh City three days earlier, said she was very happy to know that the World Police Band Concert is taking place in Vietnam.

“I have heard about the event years ago, but it’s a wonderful feeling when you see U.S. police perform on a street in another country. I think I’m so lucky that I visit Vietnam at the right time,” she said.

Tony Giorgio, conductor of the New York City Police Department, expressed his excitement after partaking in the parade in the city.

He shook hands and took pictures with a lot of spectators along the way.

“We are very happy that the parade was very successful, and part of that success was performing in front of the Vietnamese people. They are so engaging, so warm, so welcoming that gave us energy to continue our performance,” he said.

The officer hoped the audience will continue to enjoy the performances of the five bands, as although coming from different countries, they all use music as the universal language to express peace, harmony, and love.

Colonel Vu Ngoc Lan, deputy director of the External Relations Department under the Ministry of Public Security, said in a press conference on Thursday that the event aims at strengthening the relationship between Vietnam and the participating countries, especially Japan.

The concert is also a chance to introduce the Southeast Asian country’s culture and its friendly people to international friends, he said.

The event is jointly held by the Ministry of Public Security and Japan’s Mainichi newspaper, and supported by the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City and the municipal People’s Committee.

This is the second time the music festival has been organized in Vietnam, after the first in Hanoi in 2011.

Initiated by Mainichi, the World Police Band Concert has been organized annually since 1996 in numerous countries including France, Spain, the U.S., Singapore, and Indonesia.