Around 5000 youngsters from all over India and several young delegates from SAARC countries are all set to participate in the 17th National Youth Festival to be held in Mangalore from January 12 to 16.

The festival will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, D V Sadananda Gowda, while the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Ajay Maken will be the "Guests of Honour" at Mangala Stadium.

Maken will also give away the National Youth Awards to 28 individuals and two organisations at the inaugural function of the festival, which is being organised in Karnataka for the first time.

The festival's theme this year will be "Celebrating Diversity in Unity" and during the five-day festival there will be competitive events in 16 individual items and two group items.

In addition to this, non-competitive events like Yuva Kriti, Food Festival, Young Artists' Camp and Adventure Park will be organised by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan that works under the aegis of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The National Service Scheme will organise a Youth Convention and a lecture series 'Suvichaar'.

The festival will be concluded with a Valedictory Function, which will be presided by H R Bhardwaj, Governor of Karnataka.

The Chief Minister will distribute the prizes on the occasion, while Maken will be the Chief Guest and deliver the valedictory speech.

National Youth Festival, since its inception and first successful organisation in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) in 1995, is organised every year across different states of the country to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekanand that falls on January 12.