The festival is held to honour the traditional cultural values and love of the ao dai - an intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam. It is also part of activities to welcome the city’s 11th Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure. Besides popularising the national dress, the festival is also held to introduce Ho Chi Minh City’s tourist attractions and its people to domestic and international friends.

In its six holdings the festival has always received a warm response from designers, who create unique and impressive works.

The festival’s live shows and exhibitions are being broadcast online for the first time, with the application of personalised video technology hoped to make it become a “festival of ao dai lovers” around the world. Regardless of the era, the ao dai will always remain a symbol of Vietnam, a beautiful element of the local culture and an intangible cultural heritage that must be preserved and promoted. The Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival was first held in 2014 as an outstanding cultural and tourism event. It is also a key tourism product, which was confirmed when the city studied and built its tourism development strategy to 2030./.