Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National Youth Festival here on Thursday on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The 26th edition of the festival, which will be held till January 16 at Hubballi-Dharwad, is being organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka. According to officials, the festival is held every year to provide exposure to talented youth at the national level, along with galvanising them towards nation building.

It brings diverse cultures from all parts of the country on a common platform and unites the participants in the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat', they said, adding that the theme of this year's festival is 'Viksit Yuva - Viksit Bharat'. Modi will inaugurate the festival at 4 pm at Railway Sports Ground here, which will be attended by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Anurag Singh Thakur among others. The PM is scheduled to leave for New Delhi after the inaugural event. More than 30,000 youth are expected to attend the inaugural function where the Prime Minister will share his vision with them.

During the five-day event, over 7,500 youth delegates from all over India get together to engage in different learning activities. Chief Minister Bommai has said that delegates arriving from 28 states and eight union territories will be participating in this youth festival to showcase their talent. "There will be a variety of cultural and sports activities during all five days. It is for the first time the national youth festival is being held in the north Karnataka region and it will help the youth to come up in all the fields," he said.

Though there will be no roadshow by the PM during the visit, people are allowed to stand on both sides of the road from the airport up to the venue, he said. According to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, activities in the festival will include- discussions on relevant themes like student-centric governance and Digital India, adventure sports activities, exhibitions of traditional sports, competitive cultural events where troupes from different states participate. Also, there are non-competitive events like social development fair 'Yuva Kriti', 'Adventure Festival', 'Suvichar', and 'Young artists camp' among others.

On January 15, a 'YOGATHON' is planned between 6 am to 8 am by mobilising five lakh people from across 31 districts of Karnataka. There will be a 'Youth Summit' which will include two-way discussions on the ?themes like future of work, industry, innovation and 21st Century skills, climate change and disaster risk reduction, peace building and reconciliation, shared future-youth in democracy and governance.

According to officials, this year the festival is being celebrated as 'Green Youth Festival' where only reusable cutlery, napkins, etc., are being used. All the mementos, medals, and stationery are of reusable material, while water refilling stations are set up to reduce use of disposable items.