The organisers, who are expecting a massive growth in tourism post the Bollywood extravaganza, are going all out to get the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium spruced up for the three day e beginning on Thursday. "The rig was flown down from Germany. It consists of around 580 moving lights like fixtures. They are called intelligent lighting," said Aman Anand, the head of the team installing the facilities at the stadium.
"It is one of the latest state of the art lighting system in the world available today. Basically it is the first time that we have brought such items in Sri Lanka which has everything hanging in the air and there is nothing on ground," Anand said. Cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara, who will be leading the Sri Lankan side in the 'Cricket for Children' event during the India International film Academy (IIFA) awards, said it was a privilege for the coutry to host the gala.
"It is a privilege for Sri Lanka to be hosting the awards. I think the whole idea behind entertainment, sport and society is to break down those barriers. Show the world the step you are taking to do that and the IIFA is another step in that direction," Sangakkara said. Forming the Sri Lankan Cricket side are Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara and Jayawardena, among many others while the Indian side will include superstars, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Suniel Shetty, Riteish Deshmukh and others.
Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said the event would add to rapid increase of tourists from India to Sri Lanka. "The added tourist arrival will add strength to our economy. No doubt IIFA will play a vital role in further strengthening the mutual cooperation between India and Sri Lanka," Abeywardena said.
Not willing to take any chances despite the end of the war with LTTE, Sri Lankan authorities will deploy as many as 6000 police personnel besides the army to ensure security during the event. Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal have decided to give the even a miss citing prior work commitments while brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan is yet to confirm his presence.
South Indian stars Kamal Haasan, Rajanikanth and director Mani Ratnam have already declined to attend the event. Sri Lanka as a venue for IIFA has angered many Tamil groups, who allege the Sri Lankan government of killing Tamils civilians at the height of the conflict between army and LTTE last year. The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce has threatened that Southern stars and filmmakers will boycott all the Bollywood stars who attend IIFA.