The Capital will host a month long shopping festival between January 28 and February 26 next year, the Delhi government announced on Wednesday.
Delhi Shopping Festival, which the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said will be India’s biggest shopping festival, aims to attract people from across the world, boost local tourism and generate employment for the city’s residents.
Global ambitions
In a video statement on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that the government plans to make next year’s event the biggest shopping festival in the world over the coming years.
“I invite people from the entire country and the world to book their tickets to visit Delhi for the festival, which will be a unique opportunity to buy quality products, and experience the culture and tradition of the city,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
He added that all the markets, shops and malls of Delhi will be decorated and that products will be available at unmatched discounts during the festival.
The Chief Minister said there will be exhibitions on spirituality, gaming, technology and health, while artists from across the country and the world will perform in over 200 entertainment programmes during the month-long event.
He added that food would also be a major attraction at the festival, with special food walks being planned throughout the month.
“The festival will bring together Delhi’s residents, corporates, businessmen and the government, as partners. 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,” the Chief Minister said.
Jobs bonanza
The Chief Minister in his statement said the shopping festival will provide thousands of jobs to Delhi’s residents. “Most importantly, the festival will create thousands of jobs. We have made employment generation our priority, which is reflected in our budget and in every speech and interview I’ve given,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
The Delhi government will divide the city into north, south, east, west and central zones, which will host different components of the shopping festival during the month. It will identify 15 iconic markets and 10 malls across all zones to host the festival.
The government also plans to expand this festival to neighbourhood markets from the second year onwards.
The Kejriwal government had announced hosting the shopping festival in its Rozgar Budget, with an outlay of ₹250 crore.
The government said that the opening and closing ceremonies will host 20,000 people each along with millions of online visitors. The big attraction at these ceremonies will be performances by noted musicians, film personalities, comedians and dance groups. The government said that the closing ceremony will showcase a colourful display of Delhi’s culture.
The government officials also said that a large-scale beautification campaign of the city will be undertaken before the festival, with street art, environment friendly installations, and lighting of select parks, monuments, flyovers, buildings, metro and railway stations, airport, ISBT, schools and colleges.
