HCM City (VNA) - The two-day 20th World Police Band Concert featuring police bands from Japan, the US, Singapore and Vietnam kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on November 14.
The festival opened with a parade of the bands in the city's downtown in the morning. They departed from the HCM City Opera House and travel through Dong Khoi, Ton Duc Thang and Nguyen Hue streets.
The featured activity includes a concert at Hoa Binh Theatre in District 10, beginning at 2.30pm of November 15, where the bands will play classical and contemporary music.
The festival, held for the second time in Vietnam, is jointly organised by the Japanese Mainichi newspaper and the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security. The first time was held in Hanoi in 2011.
The organisers said the festival aimed to develop a solid relationship among police communities in the world, as well as introduce the beauty of Vietnam to the world.
Begun in 1996, the annual festival has been held in countries and territories including the US, the UK, Netherlands, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Spain and Singapore.-VNA