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After 91原创 was rejected this week as the 2013 host city for Bollywood鈥檚 鈥淎cademy Awards,鈥� the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, Premier Christy Clark has announced that B.C. will host an event that鈥檚 being attacked as a 鈥渃opycat.鈥�
After Toronto hosted the 2011 IIFA awards,聽聽in 2013.
This week, IIFA confirmed that 91原创 was rejected in its bid to host 鈥渢he world鈥檚 biggest international celebration of Indian cinema,鈥� now in its 14th year.
鈥淭he need for clarification was necessary following thousands of fans inquiring about IIFA celebrations following rumours of a few copycat efforts being attempted in international markets,鈥� IIFA stated in a news release.
At a news conference yesterday, Clark revealed the 鈥渃opycat鈥� awards event in question: the fresh-minted The Times of India Film Awards, which 91原创 will host this year in the event鈥檚 inaugural year.
Jobs Minister Pat Bell called the awards 鈥渁 catalyst for building awareness of B.C. to Indian businesses.鈥�
鈥淲hile we鈥檝e already had great success building high-level relationships, we now need to focus on telling Indian businesses and travellers what B.C. has to offer,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s the largest media conglomerate in Indian, the kind of exposure Times Group can offer is unparalleled.鈥�
The B.C. government will pay $9.5 million in matching funding to the Times Group toward producing the event, plus an additional $1.5 million for various host events in B.C., including the B.C.-India Global Business Forum.
The province estimates that the awards will create an economic benefit of $13 million to $18 million in direct spending from tourism and event production.
The B.C. government says the event will have a live audience of more than 30,000 and will be telecast globally.
Supporters of the #SaveBCFilm campaign, which held a聽, are widely criticizing the government for setting aside $11 million of taxpayers鈥� money on the Times of India awards instead of on saving the ailing B.C. movie industry.
