Kolkata ready to take on London, Munich

KOLKATA: It''s hardsell time for this former British capital of the East. Come January and Kolkata can lay claim to competing with global cities like London and Munich in trying to attract entrepreneurs and tourists from all around the world.
Taking a cue from the world-renowned Oktoberfest in Munich and the Thames Festival in London, the city is set to host its first international festival that aims at promoting Kolkata as a world-class destination at both the national and international levels.
Although the event was earlier scheduled to be held in December this year, the festival has been pushed back by a month to be in synch with the calendar for such global events.
The big idea is to seamlessly merge business opportunities with sightseeing activities during the week-long jamboree.
The festival, work-named ''Kolkata Festival'', pending a final decision on its title, is being developed and promoted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, one of the leading industry associations in India, and will entail a multi-crore budget during its inaugural run.
The magnitude of the event can be gauged from the fact that the promotional budget has been earmarked at a whopping Rs 2 crore.
Says Kanchan Datta, the head of the advertising agency that has bagged the prestigious project, "It is an elaborate blitzkrieg that has been planned to change the perception of the city in the eyes of outsiders. Our mandate is to promote the mega-project at three levels locally, nationally and internationally. Accordingly, we are working on the final media plans."
Datta reveals that the theme for the event would be ''Expressions of Life'' and would encompass several sub-events.
"Business seminars at five star hotels, corporate competitions, race course events, film and theatre festivals, musical concerts, food festivals, an art festival that is likely to be clubbed with singer Usha Uthup''s proposed Park Street Carnival, float parades, river cruises and a gala closing ceremony at the Millennium Park complete with a spectacular fireworks display would make the city come alive for seven days and nights," says Datta, with unabashed enthusiasm.
The state government, backed by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has reportedly shown keen enthusiasm in the entire project. Moreover, talks with several multi-national firms and large Indian corporates are at an advanced stage.
Nazeeb Arif from the Indian Chamber of Commerce, the person spearheading the entire project, adds, "We are close to signing several deals with sponsors. We are also fine-tuning the components of the entire project."
In London, the Thames Festival engages hundreds of different organisations, boroughs, authorities, schools, interest groups and other institutions, and attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers, both directly and through massive television coverage in September every year. Last year, the festival had funding support from over 40 public and private sources that included the Mayor''s office.
Similarly, for over several hundred years, a large number of visitors ''express life'' every year during the Oktoberfest in Munich.
As the name suggests, the annual festival is held in October. For the 300-year-old city of Kolkata however, such ''expressions of life'' will only be seen for the first time early next year.