Last updated: 6 October 2026, 11:42 AM IST. This guide will be updated through October as official orders are issued.
The Indian Air Force air show over the Ganga in Varanasi will now be held on 24, 25 and 26 October, with 25 October as the main day. The schedule first given for the show was 22, 23 and 25 October. Divisional commissioner S. Rajalingam has said the 23 October programme was moved to 24 October because polling for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council's teachers' and graduates' constituencies is on 23 October.
The chief minister's office used the revised window, 24 to 26 October 2026, when it announced the state-level review of preparations on 3 October. Any poster, forward or listing that still shows 22 or 23 October is out of date.
This page puts together what the state government, the Varanasi district administration and the police commissionerate have said so far. Some of what visitors most want to know, including daily flying times, the list of parking lots and the diversion map, has not been officially released. Where that is the case we say so, and we will add the details here as soon as they are notified.
Dates and the main day. The show runs on three separate days. In late September, police commissioner Mohit Agarwal said the same events and flypasts would be flown on every show day, with nothing added or dropped on any day. He said this when the dates were still 22, 23 and 25 October, and no change to the flying programme has been announced along with the new dates.
The main ceremony at Namo Ghat is on 25 October. According to the official briefing after the chief minister's review, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh may attend that day along with the chief minister. Neither visit has been formally confirmed. Visitors who want to stay clear of VIP movement may find 24 or 26 October easier, though officials are preparing for heavy crowds on all three days.
Expected timings. IAF officials told the review meeting that the aerial display would run for about 90 minutes. The start time on each day has not been announced by the IAF or the district administration. Until it is, plan to reach your spot early. The police commissionerate has said it is preparing for about 30 lakh possible spectators across the show, so approach roads are likely to be packed well before the first aircraft is overhead.
Where to watch: Namo Ghat. Namo Ghat is the base of the show. Officials briefed the chief minister on spectator galleries, a grandstand, separate areas for distinguished and special guests, a media arena, entry and exit routes and security checking points around the ghat. Whether ordinary visitors will need a pass for any of the Namo Ghat galleries has not been announced.
Where to watch: both banks of the Ganga. Officials expect people to watch from the ghats on the city side and from the wide sandbed on the eastern bank. In late September the police commissioner and district magistrate Satyendra Kumar walked the ghat steps and the opposite sandbed over a stretch of about eight kilometres, and the commissioner separately inspected Namo, Raj and Bhaisasur ghats for crowd planning.
On 4 October the district magistrate, with the police commissioner, the divisional commissioner and the Chandauli district magistrate, inspected Padav Chauraha, the Ramnagar Bypass, Tengra Mod, Domri Ganga Ghat, Kodopur Ghat and the road from Padav Chauraha to the Sandaha ring road, looking at spectator areas, routes, parking and security. The Chandauli district magistrate went over the ghat, parking and routes again with the district police chief on 5 October. The exact public viewing zones, and any ghats that will be closed to the public, will be known only when the sector maps are released.
Parking. Parking planning on the city side has centred on the area near Basanta College for Women and Rajghat, according to the commissionerate's briefings in late September. The divisional commissioner has directed that vehicles be parked only at designated sites and that main roads, link roads and emergency routes be kept clear. The full list of lots, and how far each is from the viewing areas, has not been published. Since vehicles are to be parked only at marked sites, plan on walking the last stretch to the river.
Traffic diversions and routes. No diversion order has been issued yet. The divisional commissioner has asked for a detailed traffic plan with alternative routes and diversions, to be publicised widely before the event, and the chief minister has asked for one plan covering movement by road and by river. The roads named in the inspections, including Padav Chauraha, the Ramnagar Bypass and Tengra Mod on the eastern side, are the approaches officials have focused on so far, and anyone driving in from that side should expect them to be busy. We will list the routes here once the traffic police notify them.
Entry and security. Entry routes around Namo Ghat will have security checking points. The chief minister has directed that a magistrate and trained police be posted in every sector, and that mock drills be held before the show. Officials have said CCTV cameras, drones, a control room and quick response teams will watch the main viewing stretches, and the water police will work with local police along the riverbanks. Help desks and signs are planned for women, children, older people and persons with disabilities.
Rules on bags, prohibited items and private drones have not been notified. Nor has any order on boat services or watching from boats on show days. Follow the instructions of police at the ghats, and check this page or the commissionerate's official handles before you set out.
What to carry. Until official rules are out, travel light. Drinking water, a cap or umbrella for the sun, a photo ID, a charged phone and some cash should cover most needs. If you are going as a family or a group, fix a meeting point before you reach the ghats in case phones fail to connect in the crowd, and keep a parent's phone number with young children.
Background. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed the IAF aerial display at Namo Ghat on 21 September, and the Air Force has linked it to the history of its Central Air Command. Dalimss News has followed the preparations closely, from the chief minister's review and the police crowd plan on 3 October to the late-September inspections at Namo Ghat and the opposite sandbed. The polling day that pushed the show back is covered in our report on the teachers' and graduates' MLC candidates.
Updates. 6 October 2026: Guide published with the revised dates of 24 to 26 October and the reason for the change. Daily timings, the parking list, diversion routes, entry rules and any pass system will be added here when they are officially announced.
