Modi addresses sell-out crowd as Indian diaspora flocks to Sydney speech

Narendra Modi took centrestage at the same Sydney arena where The Rolling Stones played to sell-out crowds last week, with thousands of supporters flocking to hear the Indian prime minister speak.

Following on from his address to the Indian diaspora in New York's Madison Square Garden in September, Modi held a reception for 21,000 people on Monday at Sydney's Olympic Park. Among the crowd were 220 Indians who chartered a train dubbed the "Modi Express" for the 12-hour journey from Melbourne for the event.

Supporters of the Indian prime minister waved the Tricolour and donned Modi masks and T-shirts as they made their way to the reception. The inside of the Modi Express was decked with saffron, white and green balloons and streamers, television images showed. While Rolling Stones fans paid hundreds of dollars to see frontman Mick Jagger and the band, Modi's community reception at the Allphones Arena is free - funded by about 200 Indian community organisations.