State Media praises “đi bão” street celebrations while criminalizing laying memorial flowers as “extremist terrorism.”
The Latest: On the night of Aug. 26, thousands of people across Việt Nam poured into the streets to participate in “đi bão” (storming the streets)—the nation’s tradition of mass street celebrations—following the national football team’s victory over Thailand to secure the AFF Cup championship.
- However, state media and online communities sharply divided over the chaotic celebrations, using very different terms to describe the events.
From State Media: Beginning on the night of Aug. 26, state media utilized glowing language to describe the crowds.
- At 9:52 p.m., VnExpress published a photo essay praising the celebrations under the headline, “Sea of People Turns Streets Red to Celebrate Việt Nam’s Championship.”
- About an hour later, Dân Trí wrote, “Red flags with yellow stars and proud chants of ‘Việt Nam’ echoed across streets in Hà Nội, Hồ Chí Minh City, Cần Thơ, and elsewhere following the victory.”
- Early on Aug. 27, Tiền Phong described the scene in Quy Nhơn, Gia Lai:
“Thousands of Quy Nhơn residents and tourists poured onto the city’s central streets to celebrate. Red flags with yellow stars covered the streets, while vehicle horns and chants of ‘Việt Nam are champions’ rang through the night.”
- That same morning, Tiền Phong also reported that authorities penalized 60 people for traffic violations during the celebrations.
From Social Media: Conversely, many users on the social media platform Threads complained about the noise and the difficulty of traveling through packed streets.
- User leah*** wrote in a post that received more than 35,000 likes and 3,000 comments:
“Could we please stop making ‘đi bão’ (storming the streets) part of football culture? I finished an errand at 10 p.m. and could not get home because the roads were completely jammed. There’s noise pollution, environmental pollution, and the risk of traffic accidents.”
- Similarly, user cama*** received more than 8,000 engagements for stating:
“Việt Nam’s street-celebration culture gives me motivation to support the opposing country in future matches. I do not deserve to endure the screaming, constant honking, and revving engines—or sacrifice my sleep—because of how some people choose to celebrate.”
- User yumi*** detailed the physical exhaustion of navigating through the crowds after working overtime, noting in a post with over 12,000 engagements:
“You don’t give a damn about football. You just finished OT [working overtime — editor’s note]. A journey that normally takes 15 minutes takes 45 minutes — nearly an hour — before you get home. As if the physical exhaustion were not enough, you have to endure car horns and noisemakers blaring in your ears. Some people even use ‘đi bão’ as an excuse to speed, drive recklessly, and cut in front of you, nearly causing you to fall in the middle of the crowd. You finally get home, but you still hear the noise while showering, eating, and preparing to sleep.”
The Background: The glaring contrast in reactions has sparked comparisons to a recent controversy involving former National Assembly deputy Nguyễn Sỹ Cương.
- Following a fatal traffic accident, citizens laid memorial flowers beneath the “Tree of Justice,” an act of silent remembrance that was met with strict scrutiny and removal by authorities.
- User max*** asked:
“Laying a bouquet to commemorate someone who died is called ‘incitement by hostile forces,’ while street celebrations that disrupt public order, create noise pollution, and violate traffic laws are called ‘patriotic’ and expressions of ‘national pride’?”
- User minhqua*** questioned how silent remembrance could be considered a disruption of security while noisy street celebrations are praised, asking:
“Laying memorial flowers is considered a ‘disruption of security and public order.’ Noisy street celebrations are praised as patriotic. Huh? Patriotism means you are allowed to be loud, while silent remembrance must be … excuse me?”
- User lem*** commented:
“Storming the streets = patriotism. Laying memorial flowers = extremist terrorism.”
Hoàng Nam wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 27, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
