Opened on 9 July 2023 beside Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the Hồ Gươm Theatre gave Hanoi a large modern stage in the centre of the old city. Built jointly by the Ministry of Public Security and the city authorities, it holds up to 1,400 people across some 5,000 square metres, with a stage and seating that can be raised and reconfigured for opera, for symphony concerts or for conferences. European classical forms carry Vietnamese ornament on its exterior; inside, the sound and stage systems were specified to international standard.