Full dress rehearsal of cultural performances, flypasts for Republic Day held at Kartavya Path

Nearly 2,500 artistes, set to perform at the Kartavya Path during the 77th Republic Day parade, took part in a full dress rehearsal of their respective segments on Saturday (January 24, 2026), officials said.

A rehearsal for the flypast event, a key attraction of the celebrations on January 26, was also held, they said.

A total of 29 aircraft — 16 fighter jets, including Rafale, Su-30 MKI, and Jaguar; four transport aircrafs, including the C-295, and nine helicopters — will be part of the two-phase flypast at the Republic Day parade, with a total of eight formations, a senior Indian Air Force official had said earlier.

While a dress rehearsal of the ceremonial parade was held a day ago, the flypast and some sections of the cultural performance could not be held due to inclement weather.

The main theme of the parade, ‘150 years of Vande Mataram’, and will span about 90 minutes.

“A group of artistes will herald the parade, which was part of the rehearsal held on Friday (January 23, 2026), but the grand show, with nearly 2,500 artistes representing different dance forms of India, could not be held. So, a full dress rehearsal for that section was held on Saturday, as it will be a major attraction on January 26,” a senior official said.

On Friday, armed forces personnel, and artistes took part in the full dress rehearsal, marching down the Kartavya Path on a rainy morning, which briefly delayed the proceedings at the ceremonial boulevard.

The broader theme of the performance is ‘Swatantra Ka Mantra (freedom’s chant) – Vande Mataram’ and ‘Samriddhi Ka Mantra (prosperity’s chant) – Viksit Bharat (developed India)’, officials said.

The members of the creative team that worked on programme include M.M. Keeravani as music director, Subhash Sehgal as lyricist, Anupam Kher as narrator, and Santosh Nair as choreographer, under the supervision and direction of Sandhya Purecha. The creative design and costumes have been conceptualised by Sandhya Raman, the officials said.