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Celebrities Kim and Khloe Kardashian to boxer Mike Tyson are expected to join some of the biggest names on the planet to participate in a lavish wedding thrown by Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, in Mumbai on Friday.
The wedding of Anant Ambani, 29, the youngest son of Reliance Industries chairman, will be attended by corporate bigwigs such as HSBC Holdings Chairman Mark Tucker and Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Lee.
Political heavyweights and a galaxy of international celebrities are also expected at the event, sources said.
After four months of star-studded pre-wedding celebrations, Anant will tie the knot with Radhika Merchant, daughter of pharma tycoons Viren and Shaila Merchant.
The guest list also includes chief executive of Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser, British energy firm, BP Plc CEO Murray Auchincloss, and pharmaceutical giant Glaxo PLC CEO Emma Walmsley. The sports world will be represented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Among politicians, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and defence minister Rajnath Singh would be rubbing shoulders with former British Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson and Tony Blair and former United States Secretary of State, John Kerry.
Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh chief minister, and M K Stalin, Tamil Nadu chief minister, are also expected at the event.
Almost all top Bollywood stars are expected to attend the event that will conclude on Monday. Top CEOs of India Inc and bankers are also expected to attend the four-day event.
The gala wedding, which would see 100 chartered flights landing in Mumbai, has already sent hotel room rates soaring.
“While the room tariffs are usually higher by 8-10 per cent in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) area, we have not witnessed any additional price hikes as of now. However, the rates might go up as the wedding inches closer,” said a spokesperson from travel platform Yatra Online.
According to data sourced from the platform, the average tariff for the last week at Trident, BKC, was Rs 13,710. The 436-key property, however, is currently sold out until July 14.
The average tariff at Taj Santacruz has risen to Rs 30,750 this week from Rs 19,765 a week ago.
Similarly, tariffs at Hyatt have zoomed to Rs 16,150 this week, from Rs 11,682, a week ago.
The event would also see several planes ferrying passengers from across the globe.
Rajan Mehra, chief executive of Club One Air, said the Ambanis have hired three of his company's Falcon-2000 jets to ferry wedding guests and expected over 100 private planes for the gala event.
“The guests are coming from all over and each aircraft will make multiple trips across the country," Mehta told Reuters.
A Reliance Industries spokesperson did not respond to an email seeking comment on the guest list.
“The wide spectrum and guests from all walks of life indicate the Ambani family’s focused efforts to nurture deep, inclusive, and meaningful relationships,” a CEO said, asking not to be quoted.
The Indian wedding market, estimated at $130 billion in size by the Confederation of All India Traders, is nearly twice that of the US.
The Ambani wedding has already given a fillip to a host of suppliers in the travel industry, hotels, catering, and restaurant segments. Many restaurants in the BKC area are on standby to prepare additional food for the guests.
The event, however, has led to an outrage on social media due to the traffic snarls expected in the area as the Mumbai police shut down a few roads in the BKC citing a “public event”.
Some of the offices have even asked their employees to work from home to avoid traffic chaos.
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