That Luang Stupa hosts peace ceremony on 26 October

That Luang Stupa (That Luang) in Vientiane hosted the World Peace Chanting Ceremony on 26 October 2026 during an international Buddhist gathering in Laos. Monastic delegations from 29 countries joined a traditional candlelight procession around the golden monument.

The ceremony placed a current religious programme at one of Vientiane’s most important landmarks. It also gave visitors a recent example of how the stupa functions as both a place of worship and a setting for large public cultural observances.

World Peace Chanting Ceremony reached the stupa on 26 October

The Lao Buddhist Fellowship Organization and international Buddhist representatives led the ceremony as part of the 11th Nanhai Buddhism Roundtable. The roundtable was held in Vientiane from 25 to 30 October 2026, while the main chanting ceremony and candlelight procession took place at the stupa on 26 October.

The programme brought together Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana representatives. The Lao News Agency reported that Lao Buddhist leaders, delegates and devotees from different ethnic communities attended, followed by a Vien Thien procession around the golden stupa. The ceremony report from KPL names the venue, date and wider Buddhist gathering.

The event was not a routine sightseeing activity. Its religious programme used the monument’s surrounding ceremonial space for collective chanting and circumambulation, linking the international meeting directly with the place that gives Vientiane its best-known Buddhist landmark.

That Luang Stupa combines a 1566 foundation with national symbolism

The present stupa was commissioned in 1566 by King Setthathirath after Vientiane became the capital of the Lan Xang kingdom. The monument has since been restored, including work completed in 1953, and it remains Laos’s most important national cultural monument.

The central golden structure rises 45 metres above its base. Its form includes a lotus-bud-shaped pinnacle and several architectural levels, while the wider complex includes enclosing galleries and ceremonial areas. These features explain why a candlelight procession can be both a religious act and a visually distinctive use of the site. The official landmark description records the 1566 construction, the 1953 restoration and the 45-metre height.

That Luang Stupa is therefore more than a free-standing tower. Its history, national role and continuing religious use meet in the same complex, as the 26 October ceremony demonstrated.

Visiting That Luang Stupa: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The World Peace Chanting Ceremony took place at the stupa on 26 October 2026 as part of the 11th Nanhai Buddhism Roundtable.
• The reported programme included chanting and a traditional candlelight procession around the golden stupa, with devotees joining international Buddhist delegates.
• The monument stands in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and the 2026 ceremony was held at the landmark itself rather than at a separate conference venue.
• The central structure reaches 45 metres and is surrounded by galleries and ceremonial areas, so the site is a religious complex rather than only a single tower.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about That Luang Stupa

What happened at That Luang Stupa on 26 October 2026?

The site hosted a World Peace Chanting Ceremony and a traditional candlelight procession during the 11th Nanhai Buddhism Roundtable.

Where is That Luang Stupa and how do you get there?

It is in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The reported ceremony took place at the stupa itself.

What is That Luang Stupa?

It is a golden Buddhist monument commissioned in 1566 by King Setthathirath and rising 45 metres above its base.