More than 1.51 crore LED lights lit up the skyline above the world's tallest statue on the evening of Saturday, 17 October 2026, as Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the 'Ekta Prakash Parv-2026' at Ekta Nagar — a luminous, 91-day cultural festival designed to turn one of India's most dramatic landmarks into an unmissable destination for the coming season.

A festival built around the world's tallest statue

The centrepiece of the celebration is the Statue of Unity, the 182-metre monument to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated in October 2018 at what was then known as Kevadia, later renamed Ekta Nagar. The statue swiftly became one of India's fastest-growing tourism sites, drawing millions of domestic and international visitors each year and anchoring a wider integrated tourism township around it.

Chief Minister Patel framed the festival explicitly as an expression of Prime Minister Modi's 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' ('One India, Best India') vision — the Central government initiative launched in 2015 to foster national integration through cultural exchange across states. The Ekta Prakash Parv, he said, would allow visitors 'to experience India's development and heritage up close.'

What 1.51 crore LEDs actually mean for a visitor

The scale of the illumination — 1.51 crore LED lights — is meant to produce a spectacle visible across the Narmada riverbank setting, turning the festival into an all-ages draw that pairs cultural programming with raw visual impact. The 91-day run takes the event through the peak winter tourism window, covering major national holidays and the high-footfall months of November, December, and January.

Successive Gujarat and Central administrations have invested steadily in Ekta Nagar's infrastructure — hotels, a seaplane terminal, a jungle safari, a cactus garden — building it into what Gujarat's tourism pitch describes as a self-contained destination. The Prakash Parv adds a recurring, season-defining event to that infrastructure, making repeat visits easier to justify for tourists from across India and abroad.

CM Patel's open invitation to the nation

Closing his post with a direct appeal — 'Sau deshvasiyo ane pravasione Ektanagar padhavi prakashna aa adbhut parvane manava hardik nimantran pathvu chhu' ('I extend a heartfelt invitation to all citizens and travellers to visit Ekta Nagar and savour this wondrous festival of light') — the Chief Minister signalled that the state is actively marketing Ekta Nagar not just as a heritage site but as a living, event-driven destination capable of competing for tourists' winter calendars.

The real test arrives in the footfall data over the next three months. If the Ekta Prakash Parv pushes Ekta Nagar's annual visitor count meaningfully past its previous records, it is likely to become a permanent fixture on Gujarat's cultural calendar — and a template other states with monumental infrastructure may quietly study.