NEW DELHI: The national capital will hold the country’s biggest shopping festival from January 28 to February 26 next year. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced this on Wednesday stating that the festival will elevate Delhi’s standing at the international level.
The maiden segment of the much-touted ‘Delhi Shopping Festival’ will have exhibitions on spirituality, gaming, technology and health that will be organised at the event. These will be accommodated in five different expos across five zones, said an official statement.
There will be 20 ‘blockbuster performances’ that will be organised in each zone over the weekends during the festival. The weekend blockbusters will host close to 8,000 people with concerts, performing arts, comedy shows, and celebrity gigs being a part of the mega event, the statement said.
Top artists from across the country and the world will perform in over 200 entertainment programmes as an offshoot of the festival. Curated food walks will consist of cuisines from all parts of the country – including Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and south Indian varieties. Prominent restaurant and hotel players in the NCR and beyond are expected to participate.
Markets, shops and malls across the capital will be made a part, as per the initiative. According to the chief minister, products will be available at unmatched discounts. Participants and shoppers from all walks of life will find what they are looking for, said the CM.
“We are in talks with hotels, travel agents and airlines to provide comfortable travel and lodging arrangements for people travelling from outside to Delhi; special packages will be offered to them. Besides, Delhi Shopping Festival will give a massive boost to the city’s economy. The festival will bring together the people of Delhi, corporates, businessmen, businessmen and the government to work as partners,” said Kejriwal in his announcement, adding that the countdown for the mega event has begun and this festival will reflect the spirit of Delhi.
On allied job opportunities Kejriwal said, “Most importantly, the festival will create thousands of jobs. We have made employment generation our priority, which is reflected in Delhi’s budget and every speech, interview of mine. Not just Delhi, but it is the most pressing issue for the Indian economy as well that our youth is employed.”
Five zones for the festival
Delhi will be divided into North, South, East, West and Central Zone to host different components of the shopping festival. On the basis of the USP, brand awareness, genres of shopping, number of shops, GST collection, space, footfall, connectivity and cleanliness, the government will further narrow down upon
15 iconic markets and 10 malls across all zones to take this festival to the ground
Focus areas
5 curated expos to be organised across the 5 zones
20 weekend blockbusters to be offshoots of the event
Special raffle contests to attract shoppers