"Vietnam held its largest-ever public celebrations on Tuesday to mark 80 years since the declaration of independence, with legions of lock-stepped patriots marching under fluttering flags," AFP wrote.

Vietnamese national and Party flags hang from balconies across streets in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sept. 1, 2025.

"Tanks, drones and missile batteries filed through the streets as helicopters and planes streaked above crowds which were hundreds of thousands strong in the sweltering morning sun," the report continued.

According to AFP, with about 40,000 military personnel and civilians taking part in the parade and march to mark Vietnam's National Day, the event broke the record of 30,000 participants in 1985.

The French news agency said the celebrations focused on Vietnam's independent accomplishments, including its economic transformation into a global manufacturing powerhouse.

It interviewed 19-year-old university student Vu Thi Trang, who staked out her position to spectate from midnight on Sunday, a full 30 hours before the parade's start.

"Something inside just pushed me to be here," Trang as quoted as saying.

"I am grateful for the sacrifices of the previous generation, so that we have peace and freedom to grow up."

U.S. news agency AP also emphasized on how the parade has drawn young people in Vietnam.

According to AP, "videos of the parade went viral on social media and many gathered were in their twenties, wearing red shirts with yellow stars and cheering wildly as soldiers marched past while sipping iced boba tea. People waved the country's flag or painted it on their faces. Giant screens at intersections broadcast the parade while balconies across the city were draped with more flags."

"It’s something to be proud of," said Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 22, who spent the night near Ba Dinh Square, told AP.

"Our grandparents fought for this. Now life is better," she said.

The news agency particularly pay attention to the scene of Vietnamese national flags hanging across Hanoi.

"From every edge — iron, concrete, or steel — a red flag with a yellow star flutters," it wrote.

"For a moment, the red flags stretching across the city unite the old balconies and new towers — markers of class and time — in a single celebration."

Bloomberg noted that Vietnam's rehearsals and parades drew "crowds that camped overnight for a glimpse of soldiers flashing heart-shaped hand gestures and other light touches for a parade choreographed to build pride in the Communist Party."

For the first time, a naval display was also part of the event, featuring submarines and missile frigates, it said.

Bloomberg added that alongside Soviet-era tanks, Vietnam also showcased more modern military equipment such as drones, cruise missiles, air defense missiles, and domestically developed military communications systems.

Russia’s Communist Party newspaper Gazeta Pravda noted that "the Socialist Republic of Vietnam marks the 80th anniversary of the declaration of independence in a new political and socio-economic reality."

"The new team of top leaders of the country launched a whole program of transformations akin to truly revolutionary changes," it wrote.

Russian daily Kommersant commented that Vietnam celebrated its 80th National Day with largest military parade in decades," describing Hanoi's streets as filled with flags and flowers, packed with tens of thousands of flag-waving people, most of them dressed in red.

"The most advanced military equipment took part in the parade, including tanks, missiles, helicopters, and fighter jets," Kommersant reported. "Thousands of Vietnamese soldiers, along with foreign contingents, including from Russia and China, were present at the event. The Vietnamese Navy also staged a parade in the deep-water Cam Ranh Bay, featuring submarines and frigates."

Kommersant cited remarks by General Secretary To Lam at the ceremony, emphasizing that Vietnam "are determined and persistent in safeguarding the independence, freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland."

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