PARIS: Fresh off the year’s most extravagant wedding, Nita Ambani inaugurated the India House for the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
The first of its kind at an Olympic Games for India, the temporary house is meant to promote Indian culture as the country aspires to host the 2036 Games. The endeavor was born from the partnership between the Indian Olympic Association and the Reliance Foundation, which Ambani founded and chairs.
“Today we gather here at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 to open the doors to a dream. A dream that belongs to 1.4 billion Indians. A dream to bring India to the Olympics and our shared dream to bring the Olympics to India,” Ambani, an International Olympic Committee member, said in her address.
India House is one of several hospitality houses that spring up around the Games, affiliated with participating countries or brands. This is a smattering of what’s on offer from Saturday through Aug. 11, the day of the closing ceremony:
— Tributes to Indian architecture and artistic motifs (think tigers and peacocks)
— Virtual reality tourism
— Cricket matches
— Workshops on block printing
— Henna tattooing and Bollywood dance
— A lounge for athletes
— Food, of course, which ranges from biryani and mutton curry to curd rice and several desserts.
“It’s beautiful, it’s colorful. It’s smiles, it’s joy, it’s happiness. It’s India,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the event. “It’s what we all love, the entire world. The world is here today. And India House unites the world.”
Infantino was there to encourage the development of soccer in India, whose men’s team ranks 124th and women’s team 67th in their respective FIFA standings.
“In India, football is fantastic,” he said. “Together, we make it grow even more. And, I’m here for that. So to all Indians: Watch us, football is coming seriously now in India.”
India has sent 112 athletes in 16 sports to the Olympics.
In addition to daily activities, India House will have performances, including an opening night concert from famed Bollywood playback singer Shaan. Sunday is “Bollywood Day” but will feature an hourlong session with ex-cricketer and coach Rahul Dravid on the future of cricket at the Olympics.
Men’s and women’s cricket, played in the Twenty20 format, will be added at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Ambani was accompanied by her husband, Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire industrialist who is Asia’s richest man. It’s been a busy month for the couple: Their youngest son, Anant Ambani, was married just two weeks ago in an elaborate, global celebrity-filled affair that many have dubbed the wedding of the year.