I think both started and starting make sense. Which is preferred? Is there any subtle difference in meaning?
Started in 1987, the festival exhibits more than 550 varieties of mangoes and provides a rare opportunity to taste them all for free.
Starting in 1987, the festival exhibits more than 550 varieties of mangoes and provides a rare opportunity to taste them all for free.
Best Answer
The two sentences are both grammatically correct, but they mean different things.
The above sentence says two things: that the festival was started in 1987, and that the festival exhibits mangoes. (This sentence would be clearer if it said "First held in 1987" instead of "Started in 1987".)
The above sentence says that the festival exhibits mangoes, and that 1987 is the year that the festival started doing that.
This sentence still sounds a little awkward, though. I would phrase it like this:
Each year starting in 1987, the festival has exhibited more than 550 varieties of mangoes and provides a rare opportunity to taste them all for free.