India will host the Theatre Olympics in 2018, first since the event's inception in 1993, Ministry of Culture in association with National School of Drama (NSD) announced in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Running from 17 February to 8 April, the eighth edition of the international event will see over 500 plays and 700 ambiance performances by artistes from across the globe.

Celebrating the cultural and lingual diversity of the participating countries, the theatre event is expected to host over 50 international and 150 Indian theatre groups over the span of two months.