HCM CITY From politically oriented performances and traditional festivals to modern concerts and large-scale outdoor events, HCM City has steadily cultivated a diverse music festival landscape that reflects the vibrant, open and innovative pulse of Việt Nam’s southern economic hub.

In recent years, the city has emerged as a priority stop on the national and regional touring circuit, attracting strong public interest in major shows, concerts and festivals. Iconic brands such as the Hồ Chí Minh City International Music Festival Hozo, Việt Nam Music Week and GENfest Music Festival, described as a multi-sensory music gateway, have become familiar fixtures on the city’s cultural map.

The city has also reinforced its position on the touring circuit by regularly welcoming world-renowned artists. Concerts including Super Junior’s Asia Tour: Spin-off – Half Time, Westlife’s The Wild Dreams and the Inviolate World Tour by guitar legend Steve Vai, along with BridgeFest, have highlighted both the city’s appeal and its growing organisational capacity.

What sets HCM City’s music ecosystem apart is the diversity of its venues. Music is no longer confined to concert halls or professional stages, with its vibrancy spilling into public spaces across the city. From bustling downtown areas and Nguyễn Huệ pedestrian street to parks along the Sài Gòn River, music has become an integral part of everyday urban life.

Meanwhile, high-capacity facilities such as stadiums, indoor arenas and the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre are equipped to host crowds of tens of thousands, enabling the city to stage events on a truly large scale.

Distinctive cultural highlights

To raise festival quality and distinctiveness, authorities are actively exploring new formats. A multi-experience model that combines music with culture, creativity and community interaction is seen as a good fit for a dynamic and creative urban centre like HCM City.

Emerging concepts such as MBillion 2025 within the GENfest ecosystem place a strong emphasis on artist-led narratives and fan co-creation through interactive elements, chants and shared moments, marking a fresh approach in Việt Nam’s contemporary music market.

Organisers describe MBillion not as a standard concert but as a cultural landmark, with each performance preserved through archival footage, mini-documentaries and fan records, capturing collective memories and tracing the evolving story of Vietnamese music.

The city is also pursuing broader festivals that blend entertainment with cultural and social impact. Hozo City Tết Fest, an expansion of the established HCM City Hozo International Music Festival, combines music with culture, art, creativity and community activities.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy, deputy director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, said Hozo City Tết Fest positions HCM City as a vibrant cultural hub in the region, in line with its metropolitan status.

The event aims to pioneer a festival model that fuses music, culture, creativity and community, embodying innovation and global integration, while creating a signature year-end highlight to build positive momentum and support the wider cultural industries. VNA/VNS