… 3, 2, 1, it’s 2011
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Dutch beer maker Heineken will host New Year countdown parties on the 31st in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as part of its “Cheers to the World” campaign.
In HCMC, the Heineken Countdown Party will start at 9 pm on Nguyen Hue Street and go on until midnight.
It will feature music and dance on a colorful 360-degree stage set up at the roundabout in front of Sunwah Tower.
Well-known Vietnamese and international artists, including French-Canadian DJ Matt Cerf and Australian singer Emma Hewitt, will perform.
The excitement will culminate in a dazzling fireworks display at midnight.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the show which will also be broadcast live on many TV channels.
A 360-degree stage is being put up on Nguyen Hue Street for the Heineken Countdown Party on New Year’s Eve – Photo: Viet Toan
Last year’s show rocked — Photo: Dan Tri Newspaper
Neon lights are all ready for this year’s show – Photo: Viet Toan
It was held in HCMC for the first time last year -- at the same venue -- and featured American DJ Sean Ray and Canadian singer Laurie Mannette.
Thousands attended the show last year — Photo: Dan Tri Newspaper
Canadian singer Laurie Mannette performing at last year’s Heineken Countdown Party – Photo: ngoisao.net
It will be held for the first time in Hanoi at the Opera House square.
Also to start at 9 pm, the countdown party in the capital will feature 3 talented DJs: Jonathan Glaser from Sweden, Tempo from the US, and Tuan Kruise from Vietnam. They will perform atop a 6-meter-high stage in the center of the square where a large electronic clock will count down the New Year.
DJ Jonathan Glaser of Sweden who will perform in Hanoi – Photo: Heineken Vietnam
DJ Tuan Kruise, a talented young Vietnamese electronic musician – Photo: Heineken Vietnam
The show also features renowned Vietnamese artists like My Linh, Nguyen Duc Cuong and others.
The New Year countdown, first done at New York’s Times Square in 1907, has since become one of the most anticipated events on New Year’s Eve and a global cultural phenomenon.
The razzmatazz at Times Square, New York – Photo: Heineken Vietnam
Every year when the colorful New Year’s Eve Ball is lowered from a pole on One Time Square building, people begin to count down the New Year. Around 1 million people are thought to gather for this, while an estimated 1 billion see it on TV, 100 million in the US.
The countdown has spread to Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
