Hornbill Festival will go Virtual

Held every year from December 1 to 10, Nagaland's Hornbill Festival 2020 will be organised virtually this year due to the pandemic. 

The well-known festival is a platform that showcases the heritage of Nagaland's tribes and increases the revenue of the state&rsquos tourism sector. According to the tourism department, the 2019 edition of the festival had drawn in a total of 2,82,811 visitors for the Hornbill Festival, including 55,584 domestic tourists and 3,015 foreign tourists.

It begins on December 1, when Nagaland celebrates its Statehood Day. The festival was started in 2000 to present the cultural aspects of the state and promote tourism in the area. Today the festival has become a global attraction. Kisama, the venue of the festival, is a Naga Heritage Village lying in the shade of Mount Japfü, and is about 10km from Kohima. The festival has a medley of traditional cultural performances, music by local and international bands, fashion shows, sporting events, crafts bazar, flower festivals, kid&rsquos carnival, food courts and lots more.