July 1 : Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has flatly denied reaching any agreement on the fee to be paid to the organizers of Indian International Film Awards (IIFA).
Organising a press conference in the capital on Sunday (June 30), it said that that the government is not paying organizers of the IIFA nearly Rs 1 billion to host the awards show as has been alleged.
According to the NTB officials, the 20th IIFA Awards will be hosted jointly by the NTB, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and the private sector. They also inform that negotiations with organizers regarding the fee and other facilities are ongoing.
“Nepal is poised to mark Visit Nepal Year 2020 with an aim to help turnaround Nepali tourism. In this light, successful hosting of IIFA Awards could well contribute to such objective by enhancing the image of the country in the international market,” they argue. Instituted in 2000, IIFA Awards has been hosted in cities like London, Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok, Colombo and Macau. It is claimed to have some 700 million viewership.