Hornbill Festival 2000 to 2025: Distinguished Visitors, Diplomats and Musical Performances

Key takeaways

• The Hornbill Festival began in 2000 and reached its 26th edition in 2025. It is held each year from 1 to 10 December, mainly at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.
• Documented national leaders include Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2014), President Ram Nath Kovind (2017), Home Minister Rajnath Singh (2018) and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar (2022).
• Foreign ambassadors and high commissioners have attended the opening and closing ceremonies since at least 2023.
• International music acts from Colombia, Germany, Wales, Scotland, Japan, Ireland, South Korea, Israel, Nepal and France are on the 2023 to 2025 lineups.
• This is a selected overview, not a full attendance register. Years before 2014 need more archive research.

Last checked: 11 October 2026. Every entry below carries a source in the list at the end.

Introduction

Since 2000, the Hornbill Festival has grown from a state cultural celebration into one of India's best-known platforms for indigenous heritage, tourism, music and cultural exchange. It brings together the Naga communities of Nagaland and draws national leaders, diplomats, musicians and visitors from India and abroad.

For dates, the permit and planning, see our first-timer guide and the ILP guide.

1. National leaders

2. International diplomacy

Ambassadors and high commissioners have attended the festival's ceremonies in recent years.

• 2023, opening: Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to India, and the Ambassador of Colombia to India (Nagaland Tribune).
• 2024, opening: Keiichi Ono, Ambassador of Japan; Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner; and Javier Manuel Paulinich Velarde, Ambassador of Peru (Northeast Live).
• 2025, opening: Kevin Kelly, Ambassador of Ireland, spoke at the opening (DIPR Nagaland).
• 2025, closing: Reuben Gauci, High Commissioner of Malta, spoke at the closing ceremony on 10 December (IANS).

In 2025 the six partner countries were Austria, Malta, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, with Arunachal Pradesh as partner state (DIPR Nagaland).

3. Well-known personalities

• A. R. Rahman, 2024: the composer addressed the inaugural function of the 25th edition, the silver jubilee, on 1 December 2024 (Northeast Live). In 2019 he was announced as guest of honour for the closing ceremony on 10 December (Morung Express, announcement; we have not confirmed his attendance from a post-event report).
• Kailash Kher, 2017: the singer performed on 1 December 2017 in Dimapur with the project band Surfira, which included students from four Nagaland music schools. He later said he wanted to help groom local talent (Eastern Mirror).
• Gary Mehigan, 2022: the chef lit the closing bonfire on 10 December 2022 (Nagaland Tribune).
• Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, 2023: he was on the Hornbill Music Festival lineup with a special set with the Nagaland Ensemble (Rolling Stone India, Morung Express; lineup announcement).

4. Music and international acts

Music is now a major part of Hornbill alongside traditional Naga folk performances. The Hornbill International Rock Contest, which ran until 2018, gave emerging bands a platform. Its winners from 2006 to 2018 include Joint Family, Hobos, Verbs, OFF, Slain, Indigo Children, Gingerfeet, Underground Authority, Adams Apple, Reverse Tragedy, SNF, Avora Records and Perfect Strangers. The contest was discontinued from 2019.

Lineups announced before an event do not prove that every act performed. Where we rely on an announcement, the table says so.

5. Naga artists

Naga and Northeast musicians remain central to the festival. Alobo Naga and the Band, Trance Effect, Nagaland Collective and Street Stories appear on the 2023 and 2025 lineups (Rolling Stone India, Sinusoidal Music). Traditional folk groups, craftspeople and food stalls make up the heart of the festival.

6. Milestones

• 2000: the state government started the festival.
• 2006 to 2018: the Hornbill International Rock Contest.
• 2014: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the festival.
• 2017: President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 18th edition.
• 2020: a completely virtual edition, using content from government archives (DIPR Nagaland).
• 2022: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 23rd edition.
• 2024: the 25th edition, the silver jubilee.
• 2025: the 26th edition, with six partner countries and Arunachal Pradesh as partner state.

Why it matters

Hornbill shows how a cultural festival can support tourism, cultural exchange and local business. The visits and the music bring attention, but the foundation is the heritage, hospitality and creativity of the Naga communities.

Notes on this overview

This is a selected overview, not a complete list of who attended. Entries for 2000 to 2013 need more archive research, so we do not list them. A music announcement is not proof of a performance unless a report confirms it. Some of the programme took place outside Kisama, for example Kailash Kher's 2017 concert in Dimapur.

Sources

• The Hindu, Modi at the festival, 1 December 2014: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Will-nourish-Natural-Economic-Zone-of-northeast-to-benefit-region-Modi/article60492498.ece
• Rashtrapati Bhavan, 2017: https://ramnathkovind.nic.in/pr011217.html
• PIB, 2018: https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=186068
• PIB, 2022: https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1880321
• Nagaland Tribune, 2022 closing: https://nagalandtribune.in/23rd-edition-of-hornbill-festival-2022-draws-to-an-end/
• Nagaland Tribune, 2023 opening: https://nagalandtribune.in/24th-edition-of-nagalands-hornbill-festival-opens-with-beats-of-naga-gong/
• Northeast Live, 2024 opening: https://northeastlivetv.com/topnews/silver-edition-of-nagalands-iconic-hornbill-festival-2024-kicks-off/
• DIPR Nagaland, 2025 opening: https://ipr.nagaland.gov.in/KISAMA-WITNESSES-VIBRANT-OPENING-OF-HORNBILL-FESTIVAL-2025
• DIPR Nagaland, Welsh artists, 2024: https://ipr.nagaland.gov.in/Welsh-Artists-To-Perform-At-Hornbill-Festival
• DIPR Nagaland, virtual edition, 2020: https://ipr.nagaland.gov.in/hornbill-fest-2020-be-completely-virtual
• IANS, 2025 closing: https://ianslive.in/hornbill-festival-concludes-with-colourful-cultural-extravaganza-in-nagaland--20251210221941
• Embassy of Ireland: https://www.ireland.ie/en/india/ireland-at-the-hornbill-festival/
• Rolling Stone India, 2023 lineup: https://rollingstoneindia.com/hornbill-music-festival-2023-lineup-ananya-birla-los-rolling-ruanas-alobo-naga/
• Sinusoidal Music, 2025 report: https://sinusoidalmusic.com/news/nagaland-hornbill-festival-2025/
• Eastern Mirror, Kailash Kher, 2017: https://www.easternmirrornagaland.com/dimapur-welcomes-hornbill-international-music-festival
• Morung Express, A. R. Rahman announcement, 2019: https://www.morungexpress.com/hornbill-festival-music-maestro-ar-rahman-grace-closing-ceremony

This article is drawn from public sources, written and checked with AI assistance. Spot a mistake? Tell us at hellohornbill@mail.grokbot.com.