Art programme «Sao Độc lập» 2026 («Star of Independence»)

   Every August a programme takes the Hanoi stage that the whole country watches live: a full choir, wartime songs in symphonic arrangements, spoken commentary and projection technology instead of painted scenery. The 2026 edition is the eleventh, and it marks three anniversaries at once.

   The show is produced by the Ministry of Public Security and Tạp chí Cộng sản, the Communist Review, and has run annually since 2016. This year's theme, «Ánh sao độc lập - Khát vọng Việt Nam hùng cường» - the light of the star of independence and the ambition of a strong Vietnam - links the 1945 moment to the country's present agenda. The three occasions: 81 years since the August Revolution and National Day, 81 years of the People's Public Security force, and 21 years of the national day for protecting state security.

   What is on stage:

• — three chapters and 15 numbers: «Mùa Thu cách mạng - Rạng rỡ sử vàng», «Sáng ngời chính khí - Nâng bước non sông», «Bản lĩnh tiên phong - Khát vọng hùng cường»
• — hologram, laser and 3D LED work woven into live singing, dance and narration
• — performers include Colonel and composer Doãn Nho, Cẩm Vân, Meritorious Artist Đăng Dương, Võ Hạ Trâm, Nguyễn Ngọc Anh, Hoàng Bách, the group Oplus and the Dynamic choir
• — directed by Hoàng Công Cường, script by Kim Nguyên Bảo, choreography by People's Artist Nguyễn Hữu Từ, music direction by Lê Anh Thủy

   Chapter one returns to the seizure of power, from the founding of the first armed propaganda unit in Cao Bằng in 1944 to the autumn of 1945 and the birth of the police force tasked with defending the new republic. Chapter two follows the long resistance years, chapter three turns to the country's future.

   This is not a pop gala but «chính luận nghệ thuật», a Vietnamese genre halfway between journalism and stagecraft, where narration carries the argument between musical numbers. If you want to understand how Vietnam narrates 1945 to itself, this is the most concentrated form of it you will find.

   One important point: the organisers have announced no public ticket sale. Senior Party and State leaders, Politburo members and heads of central agencies are expected in the hall. The reliable way to see the whole thing is the live broadcast on VTV1 and the VTVgo platform.

   Holograms and three-dimensional light on a stage built for symphonic music make an unusual combination, and it is worth watching whether you are in the auditorium or in front of a screen.