Visakha Utsav-2026 from January 24
The Andhra Pradesh government will organize Visakha Utsav–2026 from January 24 to February 1, aiming to showcase the cultural wealth and natural beauty of North Andhra to national and international audiences.
Unlike earlier editions, the festival will be held simultaneously in Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts, officials said on Tuesday.
The decision was announced after a high-level review meeting at the Visakhapatnam Collectorate. Ministers later released the festival poster at the VMRDA Children’s Arena as part of the curtain-raiser programme.
Ministers Kandula Durgesh, Vangalapudi Anitha, Gummadi Sandhya Rani, Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, and Kollu Ravindra participated in the review and directed officials to ensure adequate arrangements for security, transport, crowd management, and visitor amenities. They appealed to the public to attend the festival in large numbers with their families.
Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh said the festival would be organised on the theme ‘Sea to Sky’, linking coastal celebrations in Visakhapatnam with hill tourism destinations such as Araku and Lambasingi. More than 500 cultural and tourism programmes will be conducted at 20 major venues across the three districts, he said.
The festival is expected to generate economic activity of around Rs 500 crore in the region and provide livelihood opportunities to nearly 3,000 people, including local youth and artists. Officials said the inaugural celebrations would begin in Visakhapatnam, while the valedictory event would be held in Anakapalli district.
The meeting was attended by MP Bharat, TDP State president, and MLA Palla Srinivasa, and MLAs Velagapudi Ramakrishna, Panchakarla Vishnu Kumar Raju, Konathala Ramakrishna, Sundarapu Vijay Kumar, and Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy.
Senior officials present included APTDC Managing Director Amrapali Kata, Visakhapatnam Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad, Anakapalli Collector Vijayakrishnan, Alluri district Collector Dinesh Kumar, Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi, and Anakapalli Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha, among others.