Authorities of the northern Vietnamese province of Yen Bai will not seek Guinness World Record recognition of a mass folk dance performance involving 5,000 people as initially planned, an official said Friday.

The massive performance of the traditional mua xoe (xoe dance) will still be organized at a festival next week, but the application for a Guinness World Record for the show would be withdrawn, according to Nguyen Minh Tuan, head of the information and education division of the provincial Party Committee.

Mua xoe is a traditional mass dance native to the Thai ethnic minority group in Muong Lo, a mountainous area of Yen Bai.

The mass xoe dance performance of 5,000 people will be the highlight of the opening ceremony of Muong Lo Culture and Tourism Festival on September 20.

Yen Bai authorities earlier announced at a press conference in Hanoi that it would apply for a Guinness World Record of the xoe dance with the biggest number of participants ever staged in the world when organizing the performance.

However, after considering requirements and conditions set by the Guinness World Records, the provincial authorities decided to give up on the application, Tuan said on Friday.

Xoe dance, native to Thai ethnicity people in Muong Lo, was recognized as Vietnam’s national intangible cultural heritage in 2015.

The Muong Lo Culture and Tourism Festival is held annually to promote Yen Bai’s beautiful landscapes, unique culture, and tourism.

This year’s fest runs from September 20 to 25. The opening ceremony will take place at the stadium of Nghia Lo Town and be broadcast live on national channels VTV1 and VTV5.

A mass xoe dance with 2,013 participants was organized in the 2013 edition of the festival.

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