Forty-six art troupes from 37 countries are set to join central Thua Thien Hue province’s hallmark 8th Hue Festival next month.

According to Ngo Hoa, deputy chair of the provincial People’s Committee, head of the 2014 Hue Festival, set to run from Apr 12 to 20, the number is higher than last year’s and is expected to grow.

The festival, which debuted in 2000, also draws dozens of local art troupes this year.

Some 1,400 local and foreign artists and dozens of thousands of locals and tourists are expected to join this year’s festival.

According to the organizers, apart from performing onstage, the foreign art troupes will also take part in performances in several rural and mountainous areas.

There’ll also be promotion performances on Hue’s streets in the afternoons while the festival is running.

The 2014 Hue Festival will feature Hue’s court music, which was recognized by the UNESCO in 2003, along with the city’s signature folk melodies.

The festival will also re-create traditional fests and rituals, communal activities along with street art exhibitions and a kite flying competition.

The well-loved circus play “Lang toi” (My village), which has been staged successfully in France and several other European countries, will also make it to the festival.

Another highlight is an art program to honor Hue’s traditional art genres.

The Hue Festival has established its name after its seven seasons and grown to be a time-honored and contemporary art rendezvous for locals and foreigners.

Entrance to the Dem Hoang Cung (Courtly night) including a royal feast costs VND2 million (US$94), the highest at this year’s festival. Tickets to the festival opening, art programs, “ao dai” (traditional Vietnamese long gown), the closing show, range from VND100,000 to VND300,000.

Tourists can get cheaper entrance fees if they purchase tours including tickets to the Hue Festival.