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Nora Fatehi on stage. Photo: IIFA

IIFA Awards 2023 as it happened: Bollywood stars honoured in Abu Dhabi

Second night of two-day extravaganza gets under way at Etihad Arena on Yas Island

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  • Friday - Flashmob with Anya Dance Academy (5.30pm, outside Etihad Arena)
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GREEN CARPET
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IIFA AWARDS 2023 GALA GREEN CARPET

IIFA ROCKS 2023 GREEN CARPET

Why is the IIFA Awards carpet green? The story behind the move from traditional red

For 16 years, stars arriving at the annual IIFA Awards have been greeted by a bright green carpet, instead of the traditional red.

First introduced at the 2007 event in Sheffield, UK, the colour change has not only allowed the travelling Bollywood ceremony to stand out, but also it delivers an important global message about climate change.

“IIFA has always put the environmental agenda at the realm of IIFA Awards,” organisers said.

“In 2007, we launched the concept 'Greening the IIFAs' and came up with the idea of bright green carpets instead of traditional red ones.

“IIFA has always helped create clever messaging on the environment that the stars and celebrities involved would convey to the audiences and fans globally. And today, with the power of celebrity following, it’s worked.”

First held in 2000 in London, the IIFA Awards were created by Mumbai event company Wizcraft International Entertainment to honour the best Hindi films and movie talents of the previous year.

It is usually spread across several days, culminating with a gala awards night, and has been instrumental in boosting Bollywood's popularity globally.

Dubai hosted the event in 2006, with other hosts including Bangkok, New York, Colombo, Amsterdam, Madrid, Florida, Kuala Lumpur and Macau.

Abu Dhabi plays host for the second year in a row this weekend, with the musical IIFA Rocks and the gala event being held at the Etihad Arena on Friday and Saturday.

At the IIFA's first green carpet event in England, Hollywood stars Colin Firth and Sienna Miller rubbed shoulders with top Bollywood actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra.

Read the full story here

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Updated: May 27, 2023, 10:54 PM