MACAU: After making inroads into European territory in the British Empire, heading for a desert safari in African continent – South Africa and the Sheikh’s den in Dubai and royally ruling Thailand, Sri Lanka and Macau, IIFA is set to make its bon voyage to the United States in 2014.
The 15th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards will be held at Tampa Bay, Florida next June. It was announced at the closing of the Macau edition, where Bollywood celebrated the 100 years of Indian cinema.
IIFA has attracted huge response from Bollywood film buffs over the world and especially has been a HIT with the non-resident Indians.
This is the first time that, USA will be hosting the awards ceremony. The country also has plans to host the forthcoming editions of the IIFA in Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
“We are pleased to announce that IIFA travels to the USA in 2014. …The highest grosser of Hindi films after India is America….Wanted to go to America because the city can convey what we do on earth,” said Andre Timmins, Director of the gala.
Andre also added that it will be great because it will connect with the Indians residing abroad.
A cricket match between celebrities and cricketers is also being planned during the ceremony. The ballpark will be converted into a cricket stadium says Andre. It will be great to see IIFA connecting the indigenous communities.
There are also plans to rope in Hollywood stars to perform at the event. It will be interesting to see who is hosting the event. Shah Rukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor did a great job at Macau and kept audiences in splits.
We expect it to be bigger next year, especially if it’s the debut for IIFA at the American continent. Also wonder if President Obama will make a grand entry as well?
