The historic Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, which had not hosted the Janaraja Perahara for 34 years, held the procession on February 19 at 6:45 pm. The event was organized to coincide with the 75th Independence Anniversary Celebrations and was attended by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
The procession commenced at the Magul Maduwa premises and followed a route that included Dalada Veediya, Yatinuvara Veediya, Kanda Veediya, Raja Veediya, and ended at the temple. The procession included cultural performances, such as dancing troops and caparisoned elephants, which added glitz and colour to the event. A large crowd had gathered to watch the Janaraja Perahara procession.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dr. Bandula Gunawardana, Vidura Wickramanayaka, Keheliya Rambukwella, Mahinda Amaraweera, Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, Ali Sabry, Manusha Nanayakkara, Jeevan Thondaman, State Ministers Dilum Amunugama, Anuradha Jayaratne, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President on National Security Mr Sagala Ratnayake, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne (Retired), Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage and many diplomats were present.