India GOIndependence Day in Delhi
At the stroke of midnight, India awoke to freedom
The Red Fort ceremony can be attended on an admit card from the Ministry of Defence portal, but what actually shapes a Delhi trip is that the fort closes to visitors for the month before 15 August.
Where to watch
Red Fort seating enclosures: the Independence Day ceremony, watched from enclosures outside the fort. Entry on an Admit Card or Invitation Card, non-transferable and valid only for the person named on it, plus an identity document such as a passport, driving licence or election card.
aamantran.mod.gov.in: the Ministry of Defence portal where Independence Day tickets are booked, alongside the Republic Day and Beating Retreat sales. Registration by mobile number and OTP, then a government-issued ID such as Aadhaar, passport, driving licence or voter ID.
rashtraparv.mod.gov.in: the official Ministry of Defence site for the ceremony, with the route map, seating layout, traffic and parking map, the do's and don'ts advisory, how to reach and the programme schedule. Open, no registration.
🎟 Free viewing
- There is no ticket-free vantage on the ceremony itself: the enclosures are inside a security cordon and the area is closed to those without a pass. The ceremony is broadcast live nationally, which is how it is generally watched.
- Any plan to see the Red Fort as a monument belongs outside mid-July to mid-August, when public entry is suspended.
🗓 Programme
Red Fort closed to visitors
The Archaeological Survey of India suspends public entry to the Red Fort for the Independence Day preparations: barricading, stage construction and the installation of technical equipment inside the complex. The order is issued every year ahead of 15 August; the window has run from 21 July in some years and from 15 July in 2026.
Red Fort, Delhi
Independence Day, 15 August
Delhi Metro services are made operational from 04:00 on Independence Day. A valid Admit Card or Invitation Card produced at the entry point of any station in Delhi or the National Capital Region gives a free metro ride both ways, and parking space at the Red Fort is limited by design.
All Delhi Metro lines; the Red Fort enclosures on foot from there
Independence Day, 15 August
Admit-card holders enter and take their seats in the enclosures outside the Red Fort.
The seating enclosures outside the Red Fort; the layout, route map, traffic and parking map and programme schedule are published on rashtraparv.mod.gov.in for each year
Independence Day, 15 August
The Prime Minister receives a Guard of Honour from the Armed Forces, unfurls the National Flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort to the National Anthem and a twenty-one gun salute, and addresses the nation.
Lahori Gate ramparts, Red Fort