Mr. Chu Anh Hung, Director General of Hanoi Opera House, stated that according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism’s guidelines, the area that was previously leased for a Highland Coffee shop is now being transformed into a music garden. The Opera House will provide services (without collaborating with any units) that sell tickets at the entrance and offer complimentary drinks (obtained only from other units such as Highlands Coffee, Phuc Long, or Starbucks).
The area that was previously leased for a Highland Coffee shop is now being transformed into a music garden
“We will announce the specific details of these activities in the near future. The basement of the Opera House is currently not yet utilized. We will develop a plan to use the basement to play musical instruments like the guitar for visitors,” said Mr. Hung.
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Overview of the music garden within the premises of the Hanoi Opera House |
Earlier, Tien Phong had reported that the basement of the Hanoi Opera House was being used to operate a Highlands coffee. It is worth noting that in the main room in the middle of the basement, certain positions at the top of the wall are cracked, with chipped or fallen tiles, creating recessed marks on the wall. Some positions near the base of the wall were rebuilt with cement mortar.
Prior to this, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism had repeatedly requested that Highlands coffee vacate the premises, but to no avail. The reason is that the original contract signed for this unit’s lease (which expired in 2016) was extended for an additional 5 years but was not approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. However, the representative of the Management Board of the Opera House who signed the contract passed away, so it was not possible to process the early reclaiming of the premises; if the management unit of Highlands coffee requests compensation.
According to this contract appendix, the lease period is until May 1, 2022. However, in October 2022, Tien Phong observed that Highlands coffee was still operating here. Moreover, there was an infringement on the structure of the basement of the historical relic.
After Tien Phong reported this, the Management Board of the Hanoi Opera House suspended the operation of the Highland coffee shop and requested the opinion of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on the above-mentioned renovation and utilization plan.
