[5] The fest was formally started in 1974-75 as Mardi Gras, the focus of the festival being to promote interest in cultural and literary activities and to develop the organizational skills of the students.

Saarang has observed a wide range of personalities present lectures and conduct demonstrations during the event and as a part of Pre-Saarang activities.

"Spotlight", a concept in the previous editions of Saarang was a platform for famous and notable persons from various fields to address the audience and hold interactive sessions with them.

Past speakers featured in Saarang include Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Kamal Hassan, Shriya Saran, Manu Joseph, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mahesh Dattani, Leela Samson, Leander Paes, Kiran Bedi, Anita Rathnam, Ira Trivedi and R. Balakrishnan.

In the past, World Fest had introduced artists into Chennai's cultural scene through the contributions of Goethe-Institute/Max Mueller Bhavan, Alliance Française de Madras, the Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Embassy of Israel, and the US Consulate in Chennai, among other international organizations, in support of their respective artistes.

M. Balamuralikrishna, Daksha Seth Dance Academy represented by Isha Sarvani,[21] Mallika Sarabhai and troupe, Anil Srinivasan, Sikkil Gurucharan, Navin Iyer, Ganesh Kumaresh, S. Sowmya, B.S.

Popular Night has featured artists like Devi Sri Prasad and Vishal& Shekhar (in the year 2012), Krishnakumar Kunnath, (in the year 2011),[23] the musical trio Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy(in 2010)[24] [25] [26] [27] Sonu Nigam(in 2009),[22][28] Lucky Ali and Karthik (in 2008),[29][30] Sukhwinder Singh (in 2007),[11] Shaan (in 2004).,[31] Salim-Sulaiman, Benny Dayal (2019) and Shankar Mahadevan (2020).

Saarang collaborated with the MINDS foundation to conduct webinars for school children to encourage positive discussion normalizing the existence of mental illnesses and the need to provide professional help and support to those in need.

[33][circular reference] Some of the other companies that have been sponsoring various events of Saarang are Max, Vodafone Essar,[34] Bharti Airtel,[35] Nokia,[36] SBI, Exprez, Canara Bank, Derby, Wildcraft, Durex Jeans, Pepe Jeans, Aircel, Times of India, Freecharge, INOX, McDonald's, TATA Tion, isoft,[35] Club Mahindra Holidays.