India has assumed the Chair for SAARC this year, and thus hosted the region’s first ever SAARC BANDS FESTIVAL. The festival was organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and SEHER.

‘SAARC Bands Festival’ (November 30th – December 2nd, 2007), a three-day festival showcased bands presenting various genres of music ranging from the ethnic to the fusion. The leading bands from the eight member nations of SAARC, namely India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka came together in this unique cultural endeavour. This festival was conceived and designed by Sanjeev Bhargava.

The festival in itself was a novelty for the audience of Delhi, as a music show of this scale had never been organized before in India and as expected, the show was a grand success and got a huge response from music lovers in Delhi and across India. This festival will now travel to other parts of the country and back to delhi as well.