Colombo International Theatre Festival inaugurated in 2012 (CITF) is a high-profile international annual theatre event which offers a platform for theatre fraternity of the world, facilitating multicultural interaction and showcase productions from various countries spanning all five continents.

The main objective of this festival is to invite globally reputed theatre groups to visit Sri Lanka and perform; offering an opportunity to the Sri Lankan theatre fraternity to witness and understand standard, quality and latest trends in the universal theatre. Presently only a handful of privileged people in Sri Lanka gets the opportunity to travel abroad to witness an international theatre event which involves an exorbitant amount of money as well as lot of time.

On the other hand, about 100 countries have already participated in this annual affair and over 500 foreign delegates since 2012. We receive over 200 applications every year, which explains the eagerness of foreign teams to perform in Sri Lanka. CITF has placed our country in the international theatre map as the host of an annual event, which brings over 50 foreign artists, scholars and critics every year not only to perform but also to visit beautiful spots in our country. Even in a small scale, this brings foreign exchange and enhances the image of our country.

Diplomatic Missions, Ministry of Culture, German Cultural Centre, Indian Cultural Center, Media sponsors, leading commercial banks, corporate sector, and many well-wishers have joined hand in the past and acknowledged the importance of this annual event and extended their unwavering support and the assistance towards the success of CITF.