IT IS the biggest international film event in the world, it is worth about €20m to the host nation and it could be coming to Ireland. But, like some of the best films, this story has a surprise twist. If the country wants to snare this massive television event, it will have to pay part of the estimated €7m that it will cost to stage the show.
Organisers of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) — more commonly known as the “Bollywood awards” — were in Dublin recently to check locations and have declared that the city is suitable to host the ceremony, which attracts a worldwide television audience of 600m.
“We are looking for an exotic beautiful country, but also one that has the necessary logistics to host the awards,” said Shefali Munshi, associate vice-president of the IIFA. “We thought Dublin was breathtaking, a really beautiful city with lots of culture and lots to offer. It also has great hotels, good transport links and it has the O2 theatre for the actual awards.”
The cost of hosting the awards is expected to be similar to the €7m that was paid by Yorkshire when the Bollywood awards show was held there last year.
Bernice Paolozzi, the Irish businesswoman behind Ireland’s bid to host the ceremony, says she is confident of being successful. “Our weak point up to now was that we didn’t have a venue to host the awards show,” she said. “But now that we have the O2 we tick all the boxes. The IIFA delegation was delighted with what they saw and basically said that if we can sort out our finances they will be coming to Ireland.”
Conscious that public funding is unlikely in the current environment, Paolozzi is looking to Irish philanthropists and other corporate sources for the necessary cash. She said: “This is not just about money, it’s about a movement to bring awareness of Ireland to India. There are huge business opportunities opening up in India now, yet many of the people I have been speaking to there have never even considered Ireland as a business location.”
Among the claimed benefits to Ireland would be an increase in tourism, millions of euros of direct cash input and trade opportunities worth anything up to €800m.
In 2005 Bertoe Ahern, then the taoiseach, and John O’Donoghue, then minister for arts, sport and tourism, led a delegation to meet senior Bollywood movie executives in Mumbai in an attempt to grab a greater share of the billion-euro Indian movie industry. The move was part of the government’s “Asia strategy”, which was designed to advance industrial, educational, cultural and tourism links with the east.
In addition to Britain, the Bollywood awards show has been hosted in Amsterdam and Bangkok and has been attended by stars such as Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan, the actors, and Kylie Minogue, the singer.
Running over three days, it includes a number of different events including a fashion show, a celebrity charity cricket match, an international film premiere and a business forum.
The Irish committee promises to hold similar events around the country, making the IIFA a national experience. “It’s not just about the film awards, there are about 20 other events which take place also,” said Munshi. “There will be a lot of fringe activities and it would be a great opportunity for local Irish communities to engage with the Indian culture at, for example, one of our food festivals or fashion events.”
However, the awards will be unlikely to come to Ireland unless private sector support is available. A spokesman for the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism said that while it was supportive of the IIFA being hosted here, the economic climate meant there were no exchequer funds available.
“A representative of Tourism Ireland attended this year’s awards in Bangkok as an observer and reported favourably on the event and its potential as a showcase for a tourism destination such as Ireland in bringing a brand message to Indian communities,” he said.
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