The Hampi Utsav, a three-day mega  festival of dance, drama and music, will be held from January 9 to 11 at the world heritage site, once the capital of the Vijaynagar empire.

Announcing this, labour and district in-charge minister, P.T. Parmeshwar Naik assured that Hampi Utsav 2015 would be organised on a grand scale with top artistes of national and international fame participating in its many cultural events. Besides, local artistes would also be given equal importance in the mega event.
Rural and adventure sports that are more sought-after would also be held as part of the festival, the minister said.

Suggestions received at the meeting held on Saturday with cultural artistes and representatives of various cultural organisations  would be placed before the high-level committee expected to meet shortly under the chairmanship of tourism minister,  R.V. Deshpande, he added.

The minister further said that the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) would be asked to showcase the cultural festival in other states as part of the promotion and  also in important metropolitan cities. This would help in drawing more tourists to the event. Package tours would be offered to tourists from other states arriving to enjoy the cultural extravaganza.