[6] Government of the People's Republic of China provided LKR 2430 million out of the total cost of the building.

For opening night, an opera was produced by leading Sri Lanka artistes, such as Jayantha Chandrasiri, Rohana Weerasinghe and Channa Wijewardena, starting with a rendition of Jagan Mohini Madura Bashini by Pandith Amaradeva.

The Chinese opera depicted the story of fourth-century Chinese-Buddhist monk Fa-Hsien's travels to Sri Lanka.

[12] The venue was initially chosen to host the ABU Radio Song Festival 2014 on 23 May 2014,[13] but was later moved to the Stein Studios, in Colombo.

[14] The Nelum Pokuna Theatre was the site of the opening ceremony of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.