{
  "id": 4087316,
  "title": "Over two million attend Kandy Esala Perahera",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/over-two-million-attend-kandy-esala-perahera",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-29T00:04:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/over-two-million-attend-kandy-esala-perahera/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "More than two million spectators attended the 11-day Kandy Esala Perahera festival, according to police. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was among the attendees on the night of August 27, watching the final Randoli Perahera from the Mahamaluwa of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Sri Lanka Transport Board and Central Province Passenger Transport Authority provided extra bus services to accommodate the influx of visitors, and these services were well-received by the public. Police and the armed forces ensured security throughout the festival with no reported incidents. The festival officially ended on August 28 with a traditional water-cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River in Gatambe. The final Randoli Perahera took place on Thursday night, marking the climax of the event. The processions of the four main Devalayas returned to their shrines to perform religious rituals before continuing to the Mahaweli River. The daytime procession began at 2.18 p.m. on the final day, retracing its steps through Kandy's streets before arriving at the Kandy Ganadevi Kovil and Asgiri Gedige Raja Maha Viharaya. The Sacred Relics were returned to the Dalada Maligawa at 4.01 p.m. The procession concluded with the Diyawadana Nilame and Basnayake Nilames presenting the completion scroll to President Dissanayake at the President’s House.",
  "summary": "By SK Samaranayake More than two million people visited Kandy during the 11-day Kandy Esala Perahera festival to witness the annual procession, police said. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was also among the spectators on the night of August 27, when he watched the final Randoli Perahera from the Mahamaluwa of the Temple of the Sacred […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}