It will be an Indian summer in London this year, with the British capital getting ready to celebrate a three-month "India Now" festival, showcasing the best of the country's culture, films and fashion.
"This is the biggest festival we have organised so far and this is just to demonstrate how serious London is about doing business with India," Mark Prescott, in-charge of cultural affairs at London Unlimited, which is organising the event, told PTI here.
"We not only want the Indian diaspora to be involved with the festival, but also want Londoners to warm up to Indian culture."
The festival will include more than 1,500 events spread over entire London city, including art exhibitions, film premiers and a fashion show by designer Manish Arora as the concluding event on September 7.
"Our main aim is to promote tourism, and also reflect the fact that the Indian diaspora is the largest in the UK. We are serious about doing business with India, but we are also serious about learning Indian culture, food and their films," Prescott said. The festival will be kicked off on July 17 by Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid.
The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De India will also see its world premiere taking place in London as part of the festival. The budget for the entire festival runs into "seven figures" Prescott said, but declined to put a figure to it.
{{/usCountry}}The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De India will also see its world premiere taking place in London as part of the festival. The budget for the entire festival runs into "seven figures" Prescott said, but declined to put a figure to it.
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