Rihanna jets to India to perform at week-long wedding bash
RIHANNA has jetted to India to join a week-long pre-wedding party for the son of India’s richest man.
Anant Ambani, the youngest son of billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani and heir to his company Reliance Industries, is hosting an extravagant celebration packed with celebrities and state leaders, ahead of his marriage to Radhika Merchant which is expected to be held in July.
Pop star Rihanna, who is rumoured to have been paid £5million to perform, arrived in Jamnagar, western India, yesterday, ahead of the event today.
She will perform alongside US magician David Blaine and Bollywood’s Diljit Dosanjh over the course of this weekend.
The party kicked off on Wednesday, with the family – which according to Forbes has a net worth of $114billion (£90billion) – attending a huge banquet serving food to about 50,000 local residents. After the meal, the attendees enjoyed traditional folk music.
Some 1,200 people have been invited to the big party today, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Qatar’s prime minister and Bhutan’s Queen.
Also likely to attend is Bob Iger, the chief executive of Disney, which announced an $8.5 billion merger of its India media assets with Reliance’s on Wednesday.
Among the Indian guests will be top businessmen, politicians, cricketers and Bollywood stars.
The VIPS are being put up in five-star accommodation with a series of penthouses and villas renovated specially for the occasion.
The weekend is jam-packed with activities, according to the invitation, which has been circulated on social media.
Today’s cocktail party is described as an “evening in everland”. Tomorrow, guests will be taken to a rescue centre that Reliance says is home to more than 2,000 animals and has one of the world’s largest elephant hospitals.
Tomorrow evening, guests will attend a “dazzling desi romance” party and at the final event on Sunday, attendees will be expected to wear formal traditional clothing.