Goafest 2025 announces speaker line up ahead of 18th edition

New Delhi: Goafest 2025 has announced its line-up of speakers for the upcoming 18th edition of the festival, scheduled from May 21 to 23 at the Taj Cidade de Goa Heritage and Horizon. The three-day event, themed ‘IGNITE___’, will feature a mix of conversations, masterclasses, and entertainment, with participation from professionals across marketing, advertising, technology, and media industries.

Speakers for this year include names such as Rishad Tobaccowala, Youri Guerassimov (Marcel), Prasoon Joshi, Amarjit Singh Batra (Spotify), Geetika Mehta (Nivea), Vikram Mehra (Saregama), Karan Bedi (Amazon MX Player), and P.G. Aditiya (Talented), among others. Several corporate leaders from brands like HUL, Marico, Tata Motors, DS Group, Adani Group, Swiggy, Voltas, and Airtel are also part of the agenda.

Entertainment and celebrity participation will include former cricketer and India Team Coach Gautam Gambhir, and Bollywood actors Kareena Kapoor Khan, Suniel Shetty, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma, Vivek Anchalia, Luke Coutinho, and filmmaker Ram Madhvani. A musical performance by Mika Singh is also scheduled.

The event will also host masterclass sessions featuring industry professionals such as Nick Eagleton (D&AD), Senthil Kumar (VML), Vara Prasad (ITC), Krishnendu Dutta (Ipsos), Jayesh Moorjani (Google), Jayant Rajan (Meta), and others from organisations including Earthday.org, Media Kart, and Meta.

“This year, we’ve designed the festival in a manner that delivers conversations that matter. Every session has been thoughtfully curated to offer value, be it through fresh perspectives, actionable insights, or future-facing ideas,” said Anupriya Acharya, South Asia CEO of Publicis Groupe and Immediate Past President of The Advertising Agencies Association of India.

Rohit Ohri, Creative Mentor, Goafest 2025, added, “Goafest has always stood for creativity that breaks boundaries. With ‘IGNITE___’ as our theme, we’re spotlighting voices that inspire change and fuel bold thinking. This year’s line-up is designed to ignite new possibilities.”

Goafest 2025 will also introduce a new format this year called ‘Goafest Village’, which will feature multiple stages and experiences, including programming such as Advertising Plays, Advertising Rocks, and GoaFresh.