Govt will have to spend almost Rs 1 billion for IIFA Awards

The government must spend almost Rs 1 billion to organize the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards. The organizers have demanded US$ 4 million from Nepal for getting to organize the event, according to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) CEO Deepak Raj Joshi. The Cabinet has decided to organize the event in Nepal with the joint co-organizers of NTB and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). Coordinators of the Visit Nepal Year Suraj Vaidya and Joshi have been handed the responsibility of negotiating with the organizers about the event fee. "We are in the course of discussion. We have only held discussions on the venue and guests but have yet to sign the agreement. We have yet to finalize the event fee as well," Joshi told Setopati. Joshi revealed that the organizers had demanded the amount for technical preparations including event management to fees for the artists. But both the NTB and KMC do not have a working procedure to pay a foreign company in such a manner. A member of the high-level committee formed by the government to organize the event confided that an additional Rs 200 million will be needed for airfares, accommodation, and local transportation for the guests and participants. "The majority of them have demanded business class tickets while they will also want five-star hotels. Another Rs 200 million will have to be spent in that," the member told Setopati. Millions will also have to be spent on security for the guests and awards taking the expenditure to almost Rs 1 billion. NTB CEO Joshi, however, claimed that the money will be well-spent providing unprecedented promotion for Nepal. "This is an event with a viewership greater than that of the Oscars. This will create a brand for the city. We can also send a message that we are capable and safe to organize such huge events," he reasoned. "They will name the event Nepal IIFA and many television channels will promote the event as Nepal IIFA." He said the event will also provide an opportunity to bring multiple stars. "We have to spend around Rs 50 million to bring one star now. Around 100 stars of that level will arrive for the event. Videos about Nepali destinations will also be played during the event. We have almost agreed on that. Such videos will be useful for us even in the future."