Vietnamese pho celebrated in Europe on Pho Day December 12

Opening the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Dac Thanh highlighted that nearly one million Vietnamese live and work across Europe, and there are around 4,000 Vietnamese restaurants on the continent.

They act as “silent ambassadors,” helping bring Vietnam’s culture and image closer to international friends.

“Mentioning Vietnam naturally brings pho to mind. We hope the beauty of Vietnamese cuisine, including pho, will spread widely across Europe, and that one day pho will be recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” Ambassador Nguyen Dac Thanh said.

Rolf Schulze, chairman of the German-Vietnamese Association, noted that pho has now become a very popular dish in Germany and worldwide, enjoyed by all diners and representing Vietnamese cuisine in Germany.

German partners at the event called the pho promotion in Berlin meaningful, especially during the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany.

Ahead of the event, the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany actively mobilized businesses and restaurants in Germany to participate in European Pho Week 2025, an initiative by the nonprofit organization We Love Pho aimed at promoting pho as a symbol of Vietnamese culinary culture in Europe.

The program also celebrates the annual Pho Day on December 12, initiated by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

With its large scale and flexible organization, European Pho Week is expected to become an annual event, further promoting Vietnamese cuisine and culture across Europe.

The week officially launched on December 8, recording participation from more than 230 units including restaurants, eateries, and food businesses from 21 European countries, Japan, and Vietnam, joining to promote pho and Vietnamese cuisine both on social media and at physical venues.

This marks the first time a Vietnamese culinary campaign has achieved such wide coverage.

As of December 12, 2025, six partners in Germany had registered on the We Love Pho’s website, engaging in diverse activities such as posting promotional content, sharing information on restaurant websites and fanpages, contributing to Vietnamese community newspapers, and offering special pho promotions for diners during this period.