The opening ceremony was attended by former President Tran Duc Luong, former Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong, and Secretary of the Party Central Committee and National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, together with 20 international delegations from embassies and consulates in Vietnam.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan praised the organisation of the festival as well as the achievements of the Party Committee, authorities and people of Lam Dong province.

“The Da Lat Flower Festival sends a message to international friends that Da Lat, Vietnam's city of flowers in Lam Dong province, is an ideal destination”, said the Vice Chairwoman.

The 90-minute opening ceremony featured joyful, colourful arts performances praising the flower growers, artisans, and flower villages in Da Lat as well as outstanding businesses and enterprises in the flower trade.

The ceremony ended with a 15-minute fireworks display to welcome the New Year 2012.

The four-day festival features nearly 20 different programmes, including a display of foreign flowers, a flower market and floral exhibition spaces on Cu Hill and along the shores of Xuan Huong Lake.

A seminar on developing Da Lat’s flower villages is also scheduled during the festival, along with a Vietnamese craft village fair, a gala wine evening and a street festival.

The festival is a cultural, tourism and socioeconomic event which affirms the position and potential of Da Lat’s flowers and flower growers. The event also provides an opportunity to promote the area's advantages and attract more local and foreign investment to make Da Lat an attractive tourism destination as well as a major flower growing, trading and exporting centre in the future.