By – Aarti Kapur Singh
IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards could be held in Madrid this year, if the buzz is to be believed. A recent press release from IIFA says, “Madrid, Spain, One of The Strongest Bidders with serious government and royal support for The Country of Host for the 17th International Indian Film Academy.”
If the bid is successful, it could be historical – IIFA has never been to Spain before. The mega awards show, the only Indian one to be held on a global scale, brings global fans closer to their favourite Bollywood stars and it sure looks like Spain wants to join the fun for the 17th edition of the Awards.
Andre Timmins, Director, Wizcraft Entertainment International told The Indian Telegraph, “IIFA is highly coveted and in demand from various parts of the world including Abu Dhabi, Cardiff, LA, Toronto. This year too, IIFA is set to be another huge extravaganza in a great destination bringing along the glamour of the Bollywood industry, bolting tourism, business and film production.”
Not so long ago Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara chose Spain as its major location for shoot. IIFA could make Spain Bollywood’s preferred destination for shoot.
” We try to bring something new to each IIFA and this year too there are going to be a few surprises. This may be the year that we look at a destination in Europe as that’s a market that we want to enter. We want to go to a destination that encompasses all of the things that Indians like, for instance, good food, great culture and a country that will be exciting for the Indian audiences. So I think what’s going to be exciting for our film stars and people from India is that they are going to celebrate Indian cinema in a destination that’s very much like India,” said Timmins, hinting at the strong possibility of IIFA happening in Madrid. He also added, ” I think one of the reasons to go into Madrid and choosing it is because a) it’s a European country capital b) they are a huge tourist destination and the fact that it is the 60th year of our relationship with them, our PM is also going there in June. So I think all these things make it one of the best destinations for this year, it’s all very exciting.”
Recently, IIFA recently held their first awards for the south Indian film industry and it got off to a great start in Hyderabad. The International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) are moving into their 17th year and the IIFA Utsavam 2016 was a feather in their cap. The first edition of the IIFA Utsavam showcased some fantastic performances and honoured the uber talented south actors, technicians and others who are associated with the Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film industries.
The global IIFA Awards is a three-day festival and we blend business, workshops, education, volunteer programmes, and a lot more star-studded events.
