WTC Attacks Hit Desi Events Sector

Curtain call will become a rarer thing at least till the end of the year following the September 11 attacks in the US, which have hit hard the Indian event management companies organissing international shows.

The Indian event management industry, with more than 200 players, is estimated at Rs 500 crores per annum growing 30 to 40 per cent a year, of which Hyderabad contributes Rs 30 to 40 crores.

"The US attacks have hit the live international entertainment industry in India by at least 50 per cent. Entertainment and music shows by international stars have been postponed by three months due to the impending war situation in the region," Mr T Venkat Vardhan, MD of Bangalore-based DNA Networks told ET here today.

Upcoming concerts, including those by Brian Adams in Calcutta, Delhi and Hyderabad scheduled for October, and by Bjorn Again ABBA revivalist group in Calcutta, Bombay and Chennai in November, will all be pushed to December, and this will setback our company by at least Rs 5 crore, he said, prior to the controversial live concert by international pop group Vengaboys today.

The Vengaboys show had got into rough weather following the city police's cancellation of the show on the grounds of "nudity" just a day before the concert, following protests by an Islamic organisation. On an appeal filed by the Rs 20 crore DNA Networks and sponsors Pepsi, the city High Court granted permission for the concert in a day's time.

The incident will add to the setback caused by the US attacks, ruining its image as a promising city with a perfect setting, infrastructure and connectivity, for holding mega entertainment and corporate events, shows, product launches, corporate-dealer meetings, etc. The company would have lost about Rs 50 lakhs if the show was cancelled, he said.

One of the first casualties may be the Bryan Adams show in Hyderabad. International stars will think at least twice-thrice before coming here, Mr Vardhan said.

"We don't need to undermine our own country in the eyes of the world with such events just when the industry was looking up. If this is the kind of hassles international events have to go through, we wonder what will be the fate of the Great Mall of Hyderabad next month, which is supposed to have 30 days of live entertainment," he added.

Some local event management companies however claim the US attacks might not affect national and local-scale entertainment and corporate events here as much as they affect international live shows, though they agree that big shows have always faced problems in Hyderabad,

"We faced problem with "Hum Ek Hain" show by Bollywood stars here. But, the US attack hardly affects us because we are restricting ourselves to local and national events. Our hands are full with corporate parties, shows, and dealer meetings, and the roadshows for the Shopping Festival," Ms Rakhi Kankaria of Rs 3 crore Rachnotsav said. "We are even talking to two US companies including Motorola for their annual shows," she added.