On the evening of October 28, the final of the Hanoi Singing Contest, organized by Hanoi Radio and Television, was held with the participation of 12 contestants in three genres: Chamber Music, Folk Music and Light Music, as well as a song about Hanoi.

Tran Thi Van Anh, 18, from the central province of Ha Tinh, competed in the folk music genre and won the first prize. She is the youngest contestant in this year's competition. Hanoi Singing is the first professional music contest Van Anh has entered.

Tran Thi Van Anh's performance in the final round. Photo courtesy of the organizing board

Three second prizes were awarded to Ho Van Kanh (light music), Nguyen Huu Trung (chamber music) and Mai Thu Huong (folk music).

Three third prizes were awarded to Ninh Trinh Quang Minh (light music), Pham Minh Hieu (folk music) and Bui Phuong Khanh Thy (light music).

Head of the organizing committee of the contest, Le Thi Anh Mai, deputy general director, deputy editor-in-chief of Hanoi Radio-Television, said the organizers were very surprised by the large number of participants and their qualifications, which far exceeded expectations.

"The judges had a hard time scoring and selecting the contestants in the rounds because their scores were very close," Mai said.

Hanoi Radio and Television will continue to support the talented contestants by giving them opportunities to perform in art shows and major events organized in Hanoi, helping them gain more experience and stage skills.

Winners of the contest.

"Through this competition, we hope to discover and nurture musical talents to create the next generation of qualified and professional artists. The competition is in response to the Hanoi Party Committee's Resolution 09 on the Development of Cultural Industries and the Cultural Development Program - Building an Elegant and Civilized Hanoi People," Mai said.

Hanoi Singing Contest opened registration on August 29 with nearly 600 applications from all over the country. It has gone through the preliminary rounds (September 20-30) and semi-finals (October 15-18) to select 12 outstanding faces to advance to the final round.

The contest's predecessor was the Hanoi Television Singing Contest, first held in 1994 and since then biennially. However, since 2010, the competition has been suspended.

This is one of the first singing competitions in the country that is considered to have high professional quality and a large number of participants. It is also a long-standing signature program of Hanoi Radio and Television.