Bangkok gears up for massive Songkran extravaganza this April

The Cabinet has earmarked 153 million baht for the large-scale Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2025, which will be centred in Bangkok’s Sanam Luang grounds. 

Anan Kaewkamnerd, director of the Budget Bureau, said the allocated funds will be taken from the national emergency reserves for the 2025 fiscal year, as proposed by the Tourism and Sports Ministry. 

The festival, scheduled to be held from April 11 to 15, aims to give participants an enhanced experience of traditional Songkran festivities, especially after UNESCO recently recognised it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 
 

Held under the theme, “Splashing Happiness with Water: Celebrating the Maha Songkran Festival”, the event will feature a wide variety of activities, including parades, cultural performances, water play zones, showcases highlighting traditions from Thailand’s five regions, merit-making ceremonies and traditional water-pouring ritual for elders. 
 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects the festival to attract more than 800,000 participants and generate up to 3.2 billion baht in revenue.