Flag-raising ceremony held at Ba Dinh Square on National Day

At exactly 5:50 am, the honour guard formation marched from the right side of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to the flagpole, accompanied by the stirring military band playing the march "Tien Buoc Duoi Quan Ky" (Marching under the army flag). Leading the formation was the Determined-to-Win Military Flag, followed by 34 honor guards representing the 34 soldiers who were the first members of the Viet Nam Propaganda Liberation Army, the predecessor of the Viet Nam People’s Army.

As the national anthem rang out, the red flag with a yellow star flew over historic Ba Dinh Square. The main entrance to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was opened during the ceremony.

The red flag with a yellow star was first raised over Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945, when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence before millions of Vietnamese people, proclaiming the birth of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam.

Over the past 81 years, the image of the national flag flying over Ba Dinh Square has come to symbolise the enduring existence of the Fatherland in the heart of every Vietnamese person.