Songkran 2025: A blend of Thai soft power, creativity and cultural heritage

A boy plays with a water gun as he celebrates the Songkran holiday, which marks the Thai New Year, in Bangkok, Thailand, April 12, 2025. - Reuters

BANGKOK: Thailand kicked off the Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2025 with a spectacular parade in Bangkok on Saturday (April 12), marking the start of the traditional Thai New Year celebrations.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, along with cabinet ministers, attended the opening ceremony of this year’s Songkran, which had been officially inscribed on Unesco's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.