The second Ho Chi Minh City River Festival, scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 9, will feature 22 enthralling activities related to the city's waterways.

The second edition, which will be held on a larger scale than the first, is part of the municipal authorities’ strategy to transform the southern metropolis into a sleepless city and a destination for festivals and events, said Nguyen Van Dung, vice-chairman of the city’s administration, at a meeting on the festival on Wednesday.

The festival will be mainly held at four locations, including Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi Wharf, Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Canal, Tau Hu - Ben Nghe Canal, and District 7.

The highlight of the event will be a signature art show themed ‘Legendary Voyage,’ scheduled to take place from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm on May 31 at the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi Wharf, featuring 1,000 performers and 9,000 participants.

The show will be broadcast live on Vietnam’s VTV1.

Festival-goers can watch the show on two LED screens set up at a riverside park in Thu Duc City, an administrative district under Ho Chi Minh City, and at Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1.

The festival organizer is also working in preparation for underwater sports activities like stand-up paddle boarding, aquabike racing, paragliding, and sailing.

Besides, festival-goers can explore and engage in a host of joy-filled activities such as a floating market depicting daily trading activities in the Mekong Delta region, a cultural and art space, traditional folk games, a waterway-themed culinary competition, and many others.

Up to now, more than 100 tourism-related businesses have registered to offer special deals to festival-goers.

Among them, 15 branded businesses have launched e-vouchers offering discounts of up to 50 percent for those who plan to fly to Ho Chi Minh City to attend the festival.

Nguyen Thi Cam Tu, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center, announced that tourism firms will receive entrance tickets for the art show to distribute to international visitors.

Domestic visitors can book tours with the show tickets included from travel agencies.

For city dwellers, they can register for free e-tickets to the show via the website visithcmc.vn from May 22.

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