Kolkata to host international fest

KOLKATA: It''s hardsell time for thisformer British capital of the East. Come January and Kolkata can lay claim tocompeting with global cities like London and Munich in trying to attractentrepreneurs and tourists from all around the world. Taking a cuefrom 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 promotingKolkata as a world-class destination at national and international levels. Thebig idea is to seamlessly merge business opportunities with sightseeingactivities during the event. The festival is being developed andpromoted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, one of the leading industryassociations in India, and will entail a multi-crore budget during its inauguralrun. The event, that will span several days, has been work-named ''KolkataFestival'', pending a decision on the final title. Some of thesub-events that have been lined up for a simultaneous exposition in differentparts of the city include business conferences, one-on-one investmentfacilitations, river cruises, showbiz showcases and a fireworks display on theclosing day.The magnitude of the event can be gauged from the factthat the promotional budget has been earmarked at a whopping Rs 2 crore. SaysKanchan Datta, the head of the advertising agency that has bagged theprestigious project, "It is an elaborate blitzkrieg that has been planned tochange the perception of the city in the eyes of outsiders. Our mandate is topromote the mega-project at three levels — locally, nationally andinternationally. Accordingly, we are working on the final mediaplans."The state government, backed by chief minister BuddhadebBhattacharjee, has reportedly shown keen enthusiasm in the entire project.Moreover, talks with several multi-national firms and large Indian corporatesare at an advanced stage. Says Nazeeb Arif from Indian Chamber of Commerce, theperson spearheading the entire project, "We are close to signing several dealswith sponsors. We are also finalising the components of the entire project."In London, the annual Thames Festival engages hundreds of differentorganisations — boroughs, authorities, schools, interest groups and otherinstitutions — and attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers, bothdirectly and through massive television coverage. Last year, the festival hadfunding support from over 40 public and private sources that included theMayor''s office. Similarly, a large number of visitors ''celebrate life'' everyyear during the Oktoberfest in Munich.