Hanoi Dragon Boat Race Festival is scheduled to take place from February 16 to 17, the first weekend after the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year), said Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports To Van Dong at a press conference on January 29.

Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports To Van Dong (R).

The event will be held in West Lake. This event is under the framework of the cooperation agreement between the Hanoi People’s Committee and Vietnam Airlines on cultural and sports development in the capital.

The race will attract some 500 professional and amateur racers from nearly 30 domestic and international teams, who will compete in groups of 12 people each on a 600m distance.
The first of the two day event will be professional competition for athletes from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, and Hong Kong, as well as various different Vietnamese cities and provinces. They will compete in  male and female events.

The amateur grouping consists of teams from localities in Hanoi who will race for the qualifications on January 16 and the final round the next day. The group will also see various team from foreign embassies, public agencies, and businesses.

The first dragon boat festival was also organized in the West Lake in 2018. The event gathered more than 400 athletes from 27 teams competing in rowing races. The Festival was Hanoi's large-scale cultural event in early 2018.

Hanoi Times