General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly attend the Spring Reunification program - Photo: THANH HIEP

Attending the program were General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly, former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, President Luong Cuong, former President Tran Duc Luong, former President Nguyen Minh Triet, former President Truong Tan Sang;

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An, former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan;

Standing member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu, former Standing member of the Secretariat Phan Dien, former Standing member of the Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien.

General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly at the special art program Reunification Spring - Photo: THANH HIEP

The program also had the participation of members and former members of the Politburo; Secretaries and former Secretaries of the Party Central Committee; Vice President and former Vice President; Deputy Prime Minister and former Deputy Prime Minister; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly and former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly;

Members of the Party Central Committee; members of the Central Steering Committee celebrate major holidays and important historical events in 2025; leaders of Central Committees, Ministries, branches and organizations; leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and leaders of provinces and centrally run cities.

Also attending were leaders of countries around the world, political parties and international friends such as: General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith and high-ranking delegations of the Lao Party and State; President of the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen and high-ranking delegations of the Kingdom of Cambodia;

Vice President of the Republic of Cuba Salvador Valdés Mesa and the delegation of the Party and State of the Republic of Cuba; Vice President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus Ipatau Vadzim and the delegation of the Republic of Belarus; Minister of Demobilized Military Affairs Bui Kim Giai and the delegation of the Party and State of the People's Republic of China.

Also attending the program were ministers, deputy ministers of foreign affairs, ministries of defense of various countries; political parties, international organizations; ambassadors, heads of representative agencies, international organizations, defense attaches of various countries in Vietnam;

Many international friends have supported the Vietnamese people in the cause of national liberation and national construction; representatives of leaders of departments, agencies, unions of Ho Chi Minh City; leaders of Thu Duc City and more than 10,000 spectators at Creative Park (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) and millions of viewers watching live TV on VTV1 and digital platforms of Vietnam Television.

Image of the Spring Reunification rehearsal night on the evening of April 27 - Photo: VAN HOA NEWSPAPER

Called Spring of Reunification, the program is hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung delivered the opening speech of the program, sharing: "Spring of Reunification is where songs resound from the past, echo into the present and resonate forever in the future."

He expressed his gratitude to General Secretary To Lam, the leaders of the Party and State, and all the people. The Minister mentioned the song "Continuing the Story of Peace" by musician Nguyen Van Chung, affirming that the Vietnamese people will together continue to write a new heroic song for the future.

The first chapter of the program is called "The pain of division and the path to unification", MC My Lan and MC Vu Manh Cuong recall the time in 1954, when the joy was not yet complete, our country had to suffer division when Ben Hai River - Hien Luong Bridge became the boundary separating the North and South.

The medley Cau ho ben wharf Hien Luong and the new traditional song At the two ends of nostalgia (by musicians Hoang Hiep, Phan Huynh Dieu, Lam Huu Tang) resounded with the singing of People's Artist Thu Hien, Meritorious Artist Vo Minh Lam and People's Artist Ho Ngoc Trinh, along with students and soldiers and the Tre dance troupe.

People's Artist Thu Hien and artist Vo Minh Lam - Photo: THANH HIEP

The sorrowful singing of People's Artist Thu Hien and the poignant choreography recreate the scene of couples and young people separated on both banks of Hien Luong River.

The young girls in white ao dai holding palm leaves, the young men in cloth shirts in the performance " At the two ends of nostalgia" and the high, long singing of Meritorious Artist Vo Minh Lam received applause from the audience.

The performance "The Five Ton Song" (composer Nguyen Van Ty) brought a new breeze of the period when the North became a great rear base, devoting all its efforts to production to support the front line.

People's Artist Thu Hien returned to the stage with a group of dancers playing the role of farmers plowing the fields while carrying guns on their backs. In the fields, they increased production: "Not a pound of rice is missing, not a soldier is missing, for the beloved South."

Young men wearing green army uniforms crossed Truong Son to the South to save the country. Their journey was full of hardships and difficulties, but their songs were full of optimism.

The medley "My Road Is Long Along the Country" and "Spring in the War Zone" performed by Truong Linh and Hoa Minzy is youthful and fresh.

In her Ao Ba Ba (traditional Vietnamese dress) and checkered scarf, singer Hoa Minzy holds a branch of apricot blossoms to welcome soldiers in the spring of the war zone, waiting for the spring of liberation. The apricot blossom forest appears with the artistic activities of the liberation army soldiers and the optimistic and life-loving female militia and guerrillas.

The war scene continues with the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring of Mau Than 1968, bringing the audience to the message "The darkest place is the brightest place".

Medley of Ca Co Cai Luong (Hoang Song Viet) and Mat Troi Trong Ban Toi (Hua Kim Tuyen, soundtrack song of the movie Tunnels: Mat Troi Trong Ban Toi) performed heroically by People's Artist Phuong Loan - People's Artist Trong Phuc, Le Thu Hien.

Memories of the spring days of 1968 moved viewers. While people were celebrating the New Year, the liberation army soldiers were still quietly preparing for a big battle. Each person cleaned their guns, checked each bullet, and sent each letter to the rear.

In that sacred atmosphere, Uncle Ho's New Year's greetings resounded over the radio. After that, our army set out from the Cu Chi tunnel system to attack the center of Saigon.

The song Ho Chi Minh and the voice of Vu Thang Loi resounded on stage, describing the 1968 Mau Than Spring General Offensive with its heroic feats and sacrifices.

Those heroic battles were not only a testament to the indomitable will and courage of our army and people, but also moved the conscience of humanity. On the big screen were images of historical documents about the world's opposition to the unjust wars of the US imperialists in South Vietnam.

The war was still raging fiercely, but the Vietnamese army and people did not retreat. From the resounding victory in the 1972 General Strategic Offensive with the battle of Quang Tri Citadel to the "Dien Bien Phu in the air" battle in the sky of Hanoi in December 1972, our army and people inflicted heavy defeats on the US imperialists, completely bankrupting the enemy's will to invade.

The medley " The Storm Rises" and "The Majestic March to Saigon" were performed by MTV group, People's Artist Quoc Hung and the VNOB Symphony Orchestra.

And then April 30, 1975 came, the image of tank 390 crashing into the gate of the Independence Palace and the victory news resounded on the airwaves. The verses "Oh, this afternoon, the sun is so beautiful/ Uncle Ho, total victory is ours/ We come, the steel shines green/ The city named after you is resplendent with flags and flowers" (Total victory is ours - To Huu) opened the performance of The Country is full of joyful excitement performed by Duc Tuan.

But in the common joy of the country, there is also private sadness. Wives wait for their husbands to go to war, but after the war, they never return. There are people who are friends, comrades, fighting together against the enemy, but some survive to return, some remain forever on the battlefield.

The Unified Spring Program recorded those confessions. The letters were not sent to the recipients because the husband - the son - had sacrificed. There were memories written on the pages and then became endless. The tears of those who stayed behind always fell every April 30th.

The Unified Spring Stage is over 1,000 square meters wide, has a two-story design and applies many modern techniques - Photo: VAN HOA NEWSPAPER

The opening musical performance was the song Hanoi, Hue, Saigon ( poem by Le Nguyen, music by Hoang Van) performed by artists Dao To Loan, Meritorious Artist Pham Khanh Ngoc and Le Thu Hien with the symphony orchestra, choir, brass band, students...

Half a century has passed, but the spirit of spring 1975 remains intact in every Vietnamese child.

Next is the medley Fireworks Night - Spring in Ho Chi Minh City (composers Pham Tuyen - Xuan Hong) also performed by the above artists. Fireworks Night brings the old space back to the stage, with the nostalgic baby voice, the dancers in the old Saigon ao dai create a scene of spring liberation.

Spring in Ho Chi Minh City is as vibrant as the modern and dynamic atmosphere of the city today, making the audience feel proud of the South - the homeland's citadel, inspired by the liberation monuments on the battlefields of the South.

Ms. Tran Le Khang Ngoc (left) and her younger sister wore shirts printed with the national flag chosen by their mother to watch the Unification Spring music night - Photo: LAN HUONG

Although it was only 7:30 p.m., the crowd of people pouring into the Creative Park to attend the Unification Spring program was growing. The audience filled the stands with costumes printed with the national flag, eagerly waiting for the program to take place.

Despite the long distance, Ms. Tran Le Khanh Ngoc (28 years old, Binh Chanh) went with her younger sister to the event from 5:30 pm. The two sisters wore shirts with the red flag with yellow star printed on them, holding flags in their hands to cheer.

Sharing with Tuoi Tre Online , she said this was the outfit her mother chose to prepare for her children to watch the Unified Spring program.

"I feel proud to be here today. As a child of Ho Chi Minh City, I am happy and honored to live in peacetime, grateful to our ancestors for giving us the opportunity to live in independence" - she shared.

Waiting with his teammates for the performance of the song "Unforgettable Song" , Mr. Nguyen Dinh Gian (67 years old, chairman of the Veterans Association of Ward 4, District 3) could not hide his emotions.

He is the leader of a performing arts group of 50 veterans who fought in the Cambodian battlefield for 10 years.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Gian (right) attended the Unification Spring program - Photo: LAN HUONG

Mr. Gian said that the performance of “Unforgettable Song” that he and his teammates performed was only practiced for 4 days. Despite the short time, the team was extremely excited.

"During the training process, there were two days of heavy rain, but no one felt tired or complained. On the contrary, everyone was very happy and joyful to be part of this meaningful program," he shared emotionally.

"We hope that young people - the future generation of the country - will strive to preserve independence and freedom on the basis of bringing the country forward in the era of growth" - Mr. Nguyen Dinh Gian sent a message to the young generation.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tong-bi-thu-va-lanh-dao-dang-nha-nuoc-cung-lanh-dao-cac-nuoc-du-chuong-trinh-mua-xuan-thong-nhat-20250429093244963.htm