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Kites of varying shapes and colors fill the sky above Galle Face Green in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as the Derana Colombo International Kite Festival 2026 opens on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.
This year's edition brings together 80 international flyers from 30 countries and more than 1,500 local participants, marking the event's largest lineup since it began in 2015.
The international lineup marks a sharp increase from 2025, when the festival returned after a seven-year hiatus with 54 flyers from 21 countries.
Last year's edition was ranked ninth among 62 major international kite festivals worldwide and was credited with one of the highest single-day attendances in the sport's history.
More than 1,500 Sri Lankan kite flyers are expected to take part alongside the international contingent, according to organizers.
The festival, held in partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Police and Colombo Municipal Council, has been positioned as one of South Asia's largest kite festivals since its 2025 relaunch.
Ahead of the main festival, organizers held kite-making and flying workshops for more than 630 children between the ages of 8 and 15, led by expert flyers from Australia, France and China.
The sessions form part of a week-long program that has expanded the event beyond its original one-day format.
This year's festival carries the Kandy Esala Perahera as its special cultural theme, with international participants also scheduled to visit the Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Tooth.
The pairing links the kite festival to one of Sri Lanka's most prominent religious and cultural traditions.
Festivities began Saturday with a parade of nearly 200 classic and vintage vehicles traveling from Galle Face Green to Port City Colombo, accompanied by international kite flyers.
Organizers followed with a separate kite-flying event at Port City that evening for diplomats and international media.
The main festival runs Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Galle Face Green, where thousands of kites fill the Colombo skyline throughout the afternoon.
The gathering is billed by organizers as a celebration of Sri Lanka's kite-flying tradition alongside its growing international profile.
As the afternoon session ends, the festival moves into what organizers call Sri Lanka's first-ever Night Kite Festival, running from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with illuminated kites displayed against the evening sky above Galle Face Green.
The evening concludes with a concert featuring Sri Lankan artists backed by the Avatar Band, running from 7:30 p.m. until midnight, alongside the Derana Colombo Food Festival held opposite Galle Face Green. The pairing closes out the day-long program with food, music and the illuminated skyline as its backdrop.
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