Kohima: Hornbill, the festival of festivals, is planning things on a “much bigger scale” this year, with vintage car rallies, international representatives, and bands from across the world, including the US and Germany being some of the key attractions. Nagaland’s chief secretary informed Business North East on Saturday.

“Next year will be big for us as we have the Hornbill silver jubilee coming up”, Alam told us over the phone from Kohima. “Preparations will start immediately after this year’s celebration.”

The 24th edition of the Hornbill Music Festival will feature pop singer Ananya Birla, pop-rock act Alobo Naga and the Band, local indie-rock acts Trance Effect and Papersky, and Grammy-winning artist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt performing a special set with Nagaland Ensemble, among others.

Although the Chief Guest for the Hornbill is yet to be determined, reports in local newspapers suggest that the Union Tourism Minister's presence is being anticipated.

On Friday, a meeting with line departments and sectoral departments was held at the Bamboo Heritage Hall in Kisama, Kohima to discuss preparations for the festival. Kisama the venue of the Hornbill, is designed in the form of an ancient Naga village to give an authentic feel. It is located 12 km from Kohima town on the National Highway 39.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio expressed his “happiness on the work progress” for the festival, an official release said. Rio highlighted the importance of cleanliness and called upon the gathering to create awareness about it in the lead-up to the festival. “Help and cater to the needs of the tourists for them to have a pleasant stay and take away good memories of Nagaland,” said Rio, who also urged the business community to sell products at a competitive price.

The Chief Minister appreciated the eastern Naga tribes for resolving to participate in the festival, a year after they had boycotted over a separate state demand.

Nagaland tourism minister Temjen Imna Along appreciated Rio for envisioning the Hornbill as a means to bring all the tribes together to showcase their rich culture and traditions. The Minister also appreciated the line departments for their effort and encouraged them to continue the good work.

Alam, who was also present at the meet, exuded hope that the festival would be celebrated in a grand manner this year with the participation of all tribes. "Every year, we make incremental improvements every year to take the festival to the next level”, he noted.

The Hornbill festival, held annually since 200, is seen by Nagaland as a major opportunity by Nagaland to promote its tourism and rich culture. In 2022 alone, 1,40,299 visitors - including 1,026 foreign and 48,413 domestic tourists - visited the festival, and numbers are expected this year.

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