Hanoi, September 2 (RHC) –- Tens of thousands of spectators from around the globe packed major downtown streets of the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, on September 2nd to catch a glimpse of the massive parade marking National Day.

The 70th National Day was marked with a huge rally and the largest-ever parade in the country at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi Wednesday morning. The ceremony was attended by national leaders, including Communist Party General Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan, among others.

The meeting began at 7 a.m. local time with the lighting of a torch that was carried to the square from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Museum. A 21-round salute was then fired from cannons stationed at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel during the flag saluting ceremony.

In his opening speech, President Truong Tan Sang affirmed that the birth of the Democratic of Vietnam in 1945 is a glorious milestone in the nation’s history of national building and defence, which marked the end of the colonial semi-feudal regime, turning Vietnam into an independent and free country.