The national ceremony and grand parade took place at Ba Dinh Square in the capital city to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945-2025) and National Day (September 2, 1945-2025).
Attending the event were leaders and former leaders, including Party General Secretary To Lam; former Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh; State President Luong Cuong; former State Presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man; former National Assembly Chairpersons Nguyen Sinh Hung and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; and Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat and Head of the Central Steering Committee for celebrating major national holidays and historical events, Tran Cam Tu.
Among the foreign dignitaries in attendance were eneral Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith; President of the Cambodian People’s Party and President of the Cambodian Senate, Samdech Techo Hun Sen; First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, Zhao Leji; Chairman of the House of Representatives of the NA of Belarus, Igor Sergeenko; First Vice Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly, Vladimir Vladimirovich Yakushev.
In his address at the commemoration ceremony, Party General Secretary To Lam reflected on the historic milestone marked 80 years ago, when, at Hanoi’s historic Ba Dinh Square, beloved President Ho Chi Minh solemnly proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, founding the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This marked the birth of the first people's democratic state in Southeast Asia and ushered in a new era of national independence and freedom. From that defining moment, the Vietnamese people embarked on a new journey to build a government of the people, defend the homeland, and steadily advance along the path of socialism, guided by the goal of “a wealthy people, a strong nation, democracy, justice, and civilization.”
Over the past 80 years, a journey marked by immense hardship yet profound heroism, Vietnam has affirmed a fundamental truth: under the glorious banner of the Communist Party, guided by the illuminating vision of President Ho Chi Minh, and drawing strength from the people and the great national unity bloc, there is no challenge too great for the Vietnamese people to overcome, and no noble goal beyond the nation’s reach, he emphasized.
The commemoration ceremony commenced at 6:30 a.m. with a solemn torch relay, symbolically lighting the ceremonial flame. The torch, carried from the Ho Chi Minh Museum, was brought into Ba Dinh Square in a procession. The flame was then entrusted to Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, Hero of the People's Armed Forces and former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, who was celebrated for his extraordinary military achievements, including shooting down six enemy aircraft. He had the honor of igniting the ceremonial flame at the heart of Ba Dinh Square.
The national flag-raising ceremony was solemnly held at Ba Dinh Square. At the same moment, in front of My Dinh National Stadium, a 21-gun salute was fired by fifteen 105 mm ceremonial cannons operated by the Artillery-Missile Command, marking the flag-raising and the playing of the national anthem.
The military parade and procession were overseen by Colonel General Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.
Nearly 16,000 personnel from the armed forces, including both the military and public security forces, along with a wide array of modern weaponry and military equipment, took part in the grand parade, including four ceremonial guard formations, 43 contingents representing various branches of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces, and military delegations from China, Russia, Laos, and Cambodia. The event also showcased military vehicles, artillery units, specialized police vehicles, 12 civilian mass participation blocs, and one cultural-sports formation. Stationed at Ba Dinh Square were the ceremonial honor guards at the main podium and 29 standing formations, comprising 18 from the armed forces and 11 representing the people.
Above Ba Dinh Square, the Vietnam People's Air Force carried out an aerial salute featuring 31 aircraft, including helicopters, Su-30MK2 fighter jets, Yak-130 and L-39NG advanced jet trainers, and CASA tactical transport aircraft. Among them, ten helicopters flew in formation bearing the Party flag and the national flag over the square. Meanwhile, Su-30MK2 and Yak-130 jets performed aerobatic maneuvers before releasing decoy flares across the sky of Hanoi.
In addition, the Vietnam People's Navy coordinated with relevant agencies and units to organize a parade of armed forces at sea in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and Vietnam’s National Day at Cam Ranh Military Port in Khanh Hoa Province. Participating forces included the Vietnam People's Navy, the Vietnam Coast Guard, the Border Defense Force, and Military Region 5, showcasing a wide range of weapons systems and military equipment. The display featured command ships, maritime patrol aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters, submarine squadrons, missile frigates, anti-submarine frigates, fast attack missile boats, and naval gunboats, as well as vessels from the Coast Guard, the Border Guard, and the Standing Maritime Militia Squadron—demonstrating the modern capabilities of Vietnam’s maritime defense forces.
