CMG 2026 Spring Festival Gala held tonight

2026-02-16 - 10:30

China Media Group’s (CMG) 2026 Spring Festival Gala, which is China’s most-watched annual television event, will be held today (Feb. 16). This year’s Gala, themed “Galloping Steed, Onward Unstoppable”, will showcase a diverse lineup of performances from singing and dance to opera, martial arts, skits and magic. The event will also be webcast live on ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ from 4.59pm (SL time) onwards. From innovative expressions of traditional culture to the cross-cultural fusion of Chinese and international arts, the entire gala is filled with fresh creativity and a festive, auspicious atmosphere, conveying the heartfelt warmth of shared spring across the globe. The Gala links Beijing’s main stage with sub-venues in Harbin in northeast China, Yiwu in Zhejiang Province and Hefei in Anhui Province of east China, and Yibin in southwest China, together offering a vibrant blend of tradition and modern flair. Commonly known as “Chunwan” in Chinese, the gala has been broadcast live every Chinese New Year’s Eve since 1983 and has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched annual television program on the planet. The Gala’s prominence was further underscored when the Spring Festival was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024. The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional holiday for Chinese people. It falls on Feb 17 this year, ushering in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle.