The following lists notable events that will occur and take place during 2026 in Sri Lanka.
Incumbents National Anura Kumara Dissanayake(Age ) Harini Amarasuriya(Age ) Jagath Wickramaratne(Age ) Padman Surasena Sajith Premadasa(Age ) National People's Power National People's Power National People's Power Independent Samagi Jana Balawegaya
Provincial
Governors Central Province – Harsha Suranga Fernando Eastern Province – Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera North Central Province – Wasantha Kumara Wimalasiri Northern Province – N. Vedanayagam North Western Province – Tissa Kumarasiri Sabaragamuwa Province – Champa Janaki Rajaratne Southern Province – Susiripala Manawadu Uva Province – Kapila Jayasekera Western Province – Hanif Yusuf
Culture List of 2026 Sri Lankan films
Foreign relations List of international presidential trips made by Anura Kumara Dissanayake List of international prime ministerial trips made by Harini Amarasuriya List of state visits received by Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Ongoing events Red Sea crisis (since 19 October 2023) Operation Yukthiya (since 17 December 2023)
Events by month January 2 January – Kasun Munasinghe, chairman of the Matugama Pradeshiya Sabha from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, is remanded on charges of obstructing the duties of the secretary of the local council. 5 January – Johnston Fernando, a former cabinet minister and MP, along with his son, Jerome Kenneth Fernando, is arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and remanded on charges of alleged misuse of state property. 6 January – Ray Jayawardhana is appointed as the next president of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), with effect from 1 July 2026. 7 January General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army, arrives in Sri Lanka on a two-day official visit. A Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian aircraft operated by Cinnamon Air plunges into Lake Gregory in Nuwara Eliya while attempting to land at the nearby Lake Gregory Waterdrome, injuring the two pilots. President Donald Trump orders the withdrawal of United States from 66 international organisations including the Colombo Plan Council. 9 January – The Ministry of Environment instructs the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) to halt all construction activities in the vicinity of the Ambuluwawa tower and the Ambuluwawa mountain region. 12 January – Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, arrives in Sri Lanka on a stopover. 13 January – The government officially inaugurates the Rebuilding Sri Lanka national programme, which has been established to efficiently coordinate the country's reconstruction efforts following Cyclone Ditwah. 17 January – A purple star sapphire named Star of Pure Land, weighing , is unveiled in Sri Lanka and is claimed to be the world's largest documented specimen of its kind. 19 January Darshana Samaraweera, deputy director general of languages, humanities and social sciences at the National Institute of Education (NIE), which falls under the purview of the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, and two other officials are placed on compulsory leave pending an inquiry into the controversial inclusion of a URL linking to an adult gay chat website in the newly introduced grade six English module. Previously, Manjula Vithanapathirana, director general of the NIE, temporarily stepped down from her position in connection with the same incident. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders of India acquires 164,916,229 ordinary shares in Colombo Dockyard for Rs. 6.6 billion, approximately US$21.3 million, representing a 41.73% stake in the company. 21 January – Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL) announces the acquisition of PT Tri Jaya Tangguh Indonesia (TJT), a coconut processing facility, with an investment exceeding US$25 million. 23 January – Chaminda Kularatne, deputy secretary general of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, is suspended pending an inquiry into alleged irregularities related to his appointment. 25 January – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announces an investment programme of US$166 million to support local businesses and stabilise the Sri Lankan economy. 26 January – Ambeon Holdings, through its subsidiary Ambeon Essentials, enters into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire a 51.11% controlling stake in Harischandra Mills through the purchase of 918,118 shares. 28 January Tamim Rahman, the former owner of the Dambulla Thunders franchise, pleads guilty to match-fixing charges during the 2024 Lanka Premier League and is sentenced to a four-year prison term, suspended for five years, along with a fine of Rs. 24 million, approximately US$78,155, by the Colombo High Court. Saman Ekanayake, the former secretary to the president, is remanded until 11 February 2026 by the Colombo Magistrate's Court over charges of alleged misuse of public funds during the tenure of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
February 4 February – Acharya Devvrat, the Governor of Gujarat, and Harsh Sanghavi, the deputy chief minister of Gujarat, arrives in Sri Lanka accompanying the Devni Mori relics of The Buddha. The exposition of the relics will be held at Gangaramaya Temple from 4 to 11 February. 5 February – Samudika Jayarathna is appointed as the 42nd Auditor General of Sri Lanka, becoming the first woman to hold the post. 7 February – The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, commences with Pakistan playing the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (SSC) in Colombo. 9 February – Mangubhai C. Patel, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, and Chowna Mein, the deputy chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, arrives in Sri Lanka to facilitate the return of Devni Mori relics back to India. 11 February – Twelve individuals are sentenced to death by a trial-at-bar of the Gampaha High Court for the murder of former MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer on 9 May 2022 in Nittambuwa during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests. Four defendants receive suspended prison sentences, while 23 others are acquitted. Capital punishment in Sri Lanka has not been enforced since 23 June 1976. 16 February – Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arrives in Sri Lanka on a three-day official visit. 17 February David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, secretary of state for justice and lord chancellor of the United Kingdom, arrives in Sri Lanka on an official visit. Parliament votes 154–2 to abolish pensions granted to former Members (MPs). Sandro Veronesi, the founder and group president of Oniverse, announces a €30 million (approximately US$35 million) investment in Sri Lanka. The 2025 G.C.E. Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination commence with a total of 451,463 candidates sitting for the examination at 3,545 centres island wide. 19 February – Admiral Stephen Koehler, commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, arrives in Sri Lanka on an official visit. 21 February – Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR & FC) wins the 2025–26 Maliban Inter-Club 'A' Division Rugby League, securing the domestic inter-club rugby title. 22 February – The 2026 Ironman 70.3 Colombo triathlon is held at Port City Colombo. 24 February – Professor Susiripala Manawadu is appointed as the 14th Governor of the Southern Province, following the death of previous governor Bandula Harischandra in November 2025. 25 February – Major General Suresh Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service, is arrested on suspicion of "conspiracy and aiding and abetting" the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. 27 February – Sri Lankan-born baker Sithamparappillai Jegatheepan wins the 2026 Concours de la meilleure baguette de Paris.
March 4 March – A United States Navy submarine sinks the Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dena, approximately off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, outside the territorial waters but within the exclusive economic zone, in an event related to the 2026 Iran war. The Sri Lanka Navy rescues 32 survivors from the crew of 180 and recover 87 bodies, with about 60 sailors still unaccounted for. The submarine which was involved in the engagement is later identified as USS Charlotte. 6 March – The Sri Lanka Navy interns the Iranian Navy replenishment ship IRIS Bushehr and its 208 crew members after the vessel requested assistance following the sinking of IRIS Dena, and docks the ship at Trincomalee Harbour. These actions are governed by the Hague Convention of 1907 (XIII) Convention concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War. 7 March – Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR & FC) wins the 2026 Clifford Cup inter-club knockout rugby tournament, defeating Havelock Sports Club 12–10 in the final at CR & FC Grounds, Colombo, to complete the domestic double for the 2025–26 season. 9 March The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is officially dissolved with effect from today and replaced by six state-owned companies (SOE) under the government's CEB restructuring programme. Gary Kirsten, a South African cricket coach and former cricketer, is appointed head coach of the Sri Lanka national cricket team by Sri Lanka Cricket on a two-year contract commencing on 15 April 2026. Sir Mark Tucker, former chairman of HSBC and current independent non-executive chairman of AIA Group, arrives in Sri Lanka to deliver the keynote address at the forum "Reconnecting to Capital, and Repositioning Sri Lanka in a Fragmenting World", organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors, on 10 March at the Port City Colombo. 13 March – Sri Lanka repatriates the remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed in the sinking of IRIS Dena on 4 March. 15 March – The Sri Lankan government reintroduces the digital QR code-based National Fuel Pass system to ration fuel sales to motorists in order to conserve fuel amid the effects of the 2026 Iran war and the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis. 16 March – The government declares every Wednesday a public holiday, reverting to a four-day working week to conserve fuel. 19 March – Sergio Gor, the United States Ambassador to India and special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, arrives in Sri Lanka on an official visit. 22 March – The government imposes a 25% increase in fuel prices. 23 March – Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank, arrives in Sri Lanka on an official visit. 24 March – Brito Fernando is awarded the Per Anger Prize 2026, the Swedish Government's international prize for human rights and democracy, for his work seeking truth and justice for people who have disappeared involuntarily in Sri Lanka during periods of political violence and civil war. 26 March – The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka conducts the country's first paperless court hearing, held entirely on a digital system under the e-Court Project. 27 March Kumara Jayakody, the Minister of Energy and MP from National People's Power, is served with indictments before the Colombo High Court in connection with allegations of corruption that caused a loss of Rs. 8,859,708 (approximately US$28,218) to the state in 2016. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka rules that Keheliya Rambukwella, a former cabinet minister and MP, along with several others, had violated the fundamental rights of the public by procuring health supplies in breach of standard procurement procedures in 2022. He is ordered to pay Rs. 75 million (approximately US$239,000) to the state, while the others are ordered to pay varying amounts. Kamal Amarasinghe, the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, is arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with an investigation into alleged irregularities in vehicle registration.
April 2 April