New Delhi: The seventeenth edition of the International India Film Academy weekend is expected to be one of the biggest with the presence of over 150 film actors and an audience of around 150,000 over four days.

IIFA founder Sabbas Joseph from Wizcraft said that the event will also be the highlight of the events to mark the sixtieth anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Spain.

He said a prominent Spanish festival, Mulafest, had been timed to coincide with IIFA as people from Spain had become familiar with Indian cinema and the star craze after the reception the film ‘Zindagi na milegi dobara’ which was the first to be shot in that country received a grand reception.

Joseph said further that the IIFA weekend which has now covered four continents will also have the tenth FICCI Global Business Forum meet where the Indian delegation is being led by FICCI’s Harshavardhan Neotia

The IIFA Weekend is from 23 to 26 June and the awards night will be hosted by actors Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor. The awards evening will have performances among others by Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Deepika Padukone.

Spanish Embassy Charge de’Affaires Magdelena Cruz said several events had been held in Spain to mark the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. Coordinator general of the city of Madrid Luis Custo said cinema was a bridge of the road between the two countries and would bring the people of the two together.

Colors CEO Raj Nayak said the event would be seen in 135 countries. Revealing a line-up of various programmes, he said that ’24 Part Two’ by Anil Kapoor would be aired this year, apart from the tenth edition of Bigg Boss.

FICCI Joint Secretary General Ambika Sharma said that a number of chief executive officers of major firms would be attending the Business Forum being held in collaboration with the Spanish and the Madrid Chambers of Commerce. She also hoped there will be ministerial participation both from India and Spain.

While Videocon d2h is the weekend title sponsor,  Maruti Suzuki India Limited is the title sponsor for the awards. The cause sponsors are Hero Cycles. The event will be telecast on Colors.