Gala concert «Mạch nguồn Kinh Bắc – Vươn cao thời đại»

   Bắc Ninh is about to have a city bearing its own name, and the province is marking it with a large open-air concert that ends in fireworks. The special art programme «Mạch nguồn Kinh Bắc – Vươn cao thời đại» takes over Quảng trường 3/2 in phường Bắc Giang on Saturday evening, broadcast live on VTV1 and on the digital platforms of the provincial broadcaster.

   The programme runs 80 minutes: an opening number and three acts. It is staged by the province's Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and Fatherland Front. No ticketing announcement has been made — this is an open square event, and anyone who cannot get there can watch the live broadcast.

   The three acts
«Kinh Bắc - Giao điểm hội tụ»
«Bắc Ninh - Vươn cao thời đại»
«Xin chào thành phố Bắc Ninh»
People's Artists Thúy Hường and Tân Nhàn, Merited Artist Vũ Thắng Lợi
Singers Tùng Dương, Hòa Minzy, Noo Phước Thịnh, Đông Hùng, Võ Hạ Trâm, Thu Hằng, Hoàng Bách
Performers of Nhà hát Dân ca Quan họ Bắc Ninh, the HT art troupe, the Ngôi sao xanh club and the group Oplus

   The acts mix traditional music with staged live-scenery sequences and contemporary songs. The running order includes «Khúc bình minh Kinh Bắc», «Huyền sử ca Kinh Bắc», «Những cô gái quan họ - Thành phố miền quan họ» and «Xin chào thành phố Bắc Ninh». A fireworks display closes the night.

   Why this is a milestone: on 24 August 2026 the National Assembly passed Resolution 39/2026/QH16 establishing the city of Bắc Ninh under central administration, effective from 20 September 2026. That same morning the resolution is formally proclaimed at the provincial Party hall, together with the award of the First Class Labour Order.

   The culture the concert draws on has depth of its own. Bắc Ninh now holds 8 UNESCO-listed heritage items. Quan họ folk singing entered the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 and, according to the UNESCO file, carries more than 400 sets of lyrics with 213 melodic variants. In July 2025 the Yên Tử - Vĩnh Nghiêm - Côn Sơn, Kiếp Bạc complex, which includes chùa Vĩnh Nghiêm and chùa Bổ Đà, was inscribed as World Cultural Heritage, while Đông Hồ folk painting sits on the urgent safeguarding list.

   Around the same days the province also opens the exhibition «Bắc Ninh xưa và nay» at the provincial Culture and Exhibition Centre and the display «Bắc Ninh - Hội tụ truyền thống, kiến tạo tương lai» at the provincial library, and on 16 September it breaks ground on and inaugurates a batch of flagship projects at once.

   If you are in Bắc Ninh or anywhere nearby, the square is the place to be on Saturday night.