Amitabh Bachchan to Launch The Indian Film Academy Award (IIFA)

One of the biggest awards giving ceremony of Indian cinema, the Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards is going to be held in Yorkshire, England in July 2007. It is expected that about 500 million people across the 110 countries will experience the ceremony in television. On the occasion of this grand ceremony 28,000 visitors will be gathered in one place. So, you can easily imagine that how big an occasion is going to be there in Yorkshire.

However, the Big B famed Amitabh Bachchan is now in the host city as he will launch this Bollywood award ceremony. BBC News reported:

Amitabh Bachchan arrived in the city as preparations got into full swing for the Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, due to take place in Yorkshire in June.

The four-day star-studded event is expected to attract 28,000 visitors and will be broadcast to a global audience of nearly 500 million in 110 countries.

Mr Bachchan said the film community was looking forward to the awards in July.

He said: "It is an event that we all look forward to, it gives an opportunity for the entire film fraternity to collect in one place over a certain period of time.

"It's something that we can't do even in Bombay when we are all living together, so it is an opportunity to meet each other and of course spend time in a new location every year."

On the other hand, the Yorkshire state government is well concerned to make the best use of such a huge gathering. They think that the award giving ceremony will make a boost in their tourism sectors as people from different countries will either physically attended at the function or watch the whole program on television screen. Even if just one percent of 500 million people can be attracted by the Yorkshire tourism, it would generate quick cash in for Yorkshire.