Foreign News
The marathon Indian wedding turning heads around the world
How much is too much?
That’s the question many in India are asking as the months-long wedding festivities for the youngest son of Asia’s richest man enter their final phase.
The celebrations are expected to culminate this weekend when Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, ties the knot with Radhika Merchant, daughter of pharma tycoons Viren and Shaila Merchant.
There have been four months of lavish events leading up to the wedding itself. All the glamourous outfits, stunning jewellery, fairytale-like decor and rare performances by Indian and global stars have been the focus of much public attention.
“It is nothing short of a royal wedding,” says writer and columnist Shobhaa De. “Our billionaires are the new Indian maharajahs. Their shareholders expect nothing less than a mega extravaganza.”
Indians “have always loved pomp and pageantry – just like the British”, she says, adding that “the scale [of the wedding] is in keeping with the Ambani wealth”.
But the hullabaloo around the wedding has drawn as much ire as public fascination. Many have criticised the opulence and the sheer magnitude of wealth on display in a country where tens of millions live below the poverty line and where income equality is extreme.
“The wedding can easily be seen as a kind of a mockery, a sort of blindness to the reality of the country at one level. At another level, however ridiculous this might be, it is still in keeping with the grossly distorted, almost grotesque bloating of Indian weddings in the last decade or so,” writer and commentator Santosh Desai tells the BBC.
“It is part of a larger shift that is taking place. A generation or two ago, wealth was spoken of in whispers. Today, wealth must speak as loudly as possible. Even then, the scale of this wedding makes it an outlier.”
With a sprawling business empire – ranging from oil, telecoms, chemicals, technology and fashion to food – the Ambanis are a ubiquitous presence in India and their lives are the subject of intense public fascination.
Mr Ambani’s personal fortune is estimated at a staggering $115bn (£90bn). Anant, 29, holds a position on the Reliance Industries board of directors.
Ambani senior, along with fellow Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani, is reported to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, with opposition parties accusing the authorities of unduly favouring the two business houses – accusations both the government and the businessmen deny.
While the Ambani family’s enormous wealth and clout are well known in India, many outside the country may not have realised the extent of their riches until now.
That changed in March, when Mr Ambani hosted a three-day pre-wedding party for his son.
The festivities were held in the family’s hometown Jamnagar in the western state of Gujarat, which is also the location of Mr Ambani’s oil refinery – the largest in the world. Some 1,200 guests attended, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
The party began with a dinner held inside a glasshouse especially built for the occasion. The stunning structure reportedly resembles Palm House, a crystalline Victorian-style building located in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which was a favourite of Ms Merchant when she was a college student in New York City.
The feast was followed by a performance by Rihanna and viral videos showed the Ambani family grooving with the popstar on stage. If people hadn’t been paying attention, they definitely were now.
Through it all, dozens of speciality chefs served some 2,000 dishes, carefully curated from around the world, to guests lodged in luxury tents, with personal makeup artists and stylists at their service.
There was also a 10-page manual on the dress code for the events, which included a “jungle fever” theme for a visit to a family-owned animal sanctuary, followed by a Moulin Rouge-themed “house party” held at the sprawling grounds of their palatial residence.
The bride-to-be wore a number of specially crafted outfits, including two lehngas (long bridal silk skirts) – one studded with 20,000 Swarovski crystals and another that reportedly took 5,700 hours to make – and a pink version of a Versace dress that actor Blake Lively wore to the 2022 Met Gala.
The groom mostly wore Dolce & Gabbana outfits and flaunted a Richard Mille wristwatch, worth an estimated $1.5m. A viral video of Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan gawking at the watch went viral in India.
Newspapers and websites perfectly captured the opulence of these dazzling events, attended by the glitterati from around the world. “It was almost like the time of maharajahs 100 years down the line,” the New York Times reported.
There was also backlash after India’s government overnight designated the city’s small airport into an international airport, expanded its staff and deployed military and air force personnel in service of the family.
The final night of the three-day jamboree, which ended with a shower of confetti, fireworks and a lightshow, set the tone for what was to come next.
In June, the couple and their guests took their pre-wedding celebrations overseas, literally. The party, which included top Bollywood stars, embarked on a luxury cruise along the stunning azure coastline of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy, to the French Mediterranean.
They stopped in Rome, Portofino, Genoa and Cannes for late-night revelry that reportedly brought complaints from local people.
This time, the celebrations had performances by 90s teen heartthrobs The Backstreet Boys, singer Katy Perry and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
This week, yet another set of wedding celebrations kicked off on the family’s home turf, Mumbai, with a performance by Justin Bieber.
A video of him singing at the edge of the stage as the bride and her friends sing along has been viewed 38 million times. It shows ecstatic women in sequined gowns and saris as they punch their fists skyward in glee. The crowd doesn’t miss a beat to Bieber’s verse: You should go and love yourself.
The scale of the celebrations show that nothing is out of reach for the family. And there is speculation that Adele could be performing at the actual wedding this weekend – the family, however, are tight-lipped.
Of course, India isn’t a stranger to the concept of big fat weddings – the country is the largest spender on marriage ceremonies after the US.
Tina Tharwani, co-founder of the Shaadi Squad, says in recent years, there’s been a noticeable trend where weddings have become larger-than-life events that veer towards excessiveness, driven by societal expectations, competitive displays of status, and a desire to create memorable moments.
So, we’ve seen expensive weddings routinely make headlines in recent years, such as this $74mwedding in 2016.
Other Ambani children have also had lavish pre-wedding festivities. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were among attendees at Isha Ambani’s pre-wedding bash in 2018, which featured a performance by Beyoncé. A year later, Akash Ambani’s pre-wedding bash featured a performance by Coldplay.
When it comes to scale, though, this is the mother of all weddings, says Ashwini Arya, owner of an event management company that has managed weddings in 14 countries.
“It’s like the bible for the industry with the best of logistics, tech, design and grandeur.
“You’re talking about preparations of a minimum of two years, multiple recce trips, approvals and permissions from several countries, along with the logistics of arranging security and transport for some of the biggest personalities of the world,” he says.
The Ambanis have not revealed how much this wedding is costing them but Mr Arya estimates that they have already spent nywhere between 11bn and 13bn rupees [$132m-$156m]. It was rumoured Rihanna had been paid $7m (£5.5m) for her performance, while the figure suggested for Bieber is $10m.
Money was also lavished on constructing 14 temples inside a sprawling complex in Jamnagar to showcase India’s cultural heritage and provide a backdrop for the wedding. As part of the celebrations, the Ambanis hosted a mass wedding for 50 underprivileged couples too.
It’s being said the family pulled out all the stops because with all the Ambani children married, this would be their last wedding for the foreseeable future.
But with each event, public criticism of the celebration in India has grown – from people aghast at the massive jewels worn by Nita Ambani to exasperation and anger among Mumbai residents over traffic restrictions in a city already struggling with traffic jams and monsoon flooding.
For India’s wedding industry though, it’s still an exciting marketing opportunity.
This is an excellent chance for designers to showcase the more refined side of India’s couture, artistry and craftsmanship, says Anand Bhushan, a fashion designer. That said, the frequency, with celebrities changing five-six outfits per event can sometimes feel a “little saturating”, he admits.
Ms Tharwani says the wedding serves as “an exemplary case” of orchestrating a multi-event, multi-location celebration “that combines tradition, modernity, and unmatched hospitality standards”.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Varindar Chawla, one of Bollywood’s best-known paparazzi, is sifting through the photographs of the celebrations.
There are a few of celebrities posing at the entrance as they arrive to attend the various events.
Each one of these pictures – even the unflattering ones, such as of a star looking stunned as the glare of a camera-flash hits them in the face – has been fetching millions of views and shares.
“Usually it’s hard to penetrate events of this scale. But this family has gone out of the way to ensure we are there to cover every little detail,” he says.
“It’s a royal wedding and we are getting a royal treatment.”
[BBC]
A Belgian prince’s attempt to claim social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal allowance has been rejected by a court.
Prince Laurent – the younger brother of King Philippe – received €388,000 (£295,850; $376,000) from state funds last year but said that his work entitles him and his family to social security.
He had argued that he was partly self-employed because of the duties he carries out as a royal, as well as running an animal welfare charity for the past decade.
Laurent, 61, said he was acting out of “principle” rather than for money. The court disagreed.
“When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to social security,” he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
“I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place.”
But on Monday a court in Brussels turned down Laurent’s request on the grounds that the prince can be considered neither self-employed nor an employee.
However, according to broadcaster VTM the judge acknowledged that the prince should actually be entitled to a pension – but said gaps in legislation made that impossible and called for the law to be amended.
His lawyer, Olivier Rijckaert, told Belgian newspaper Le Soir that Laurent’s request had not been based on a “whim” and insisted on its symbolism, saying that social security is “granted by Belgian law to all residents, from the most deprived to the richest”.
Mr Rijckaert also said that most of the prince’s allowance is spent on his assistant’s salary and various travel expenses.
This means Laurent is left with about €5000 (£4300; $5500) a month but no social security benefits, such as the right to claim back some medical expenses.
The prince – who has three adult children with British-born wife Claire Coombs – has also expressed his concerns over his family’s wellbeing since the royal allowance will be cut when he dies.
Laurent took legal action against the Belgian state after his application for social security was refused. A first hearing was held in November 2024.
According to RTBF, the prince and his legal counsel have not yet decided whether to appeal the court’s decision.
Laurentm who is the 15th in the Belgian line of succession, is no stranger to controversy and is sometimes termed the prince maudit – the “cursed prince” – in Belgium.
In 2018, the Belgian federal parliament voted to dock his monthly allowance for a year after he attended a Chinese embassy reception without government permission, in full naval uniform.
He has also racked up several speeding fines and has been criticised for attending meetings in Libya when the late Muammar Gaddafi was still in power.
[BBC]
Heavy rains have lashed parts of earthquake-hit Myanmar, complicating relief efforts and raising the risk of disease as the death toll from the powerful quakes that struck the country on March 28 rose to at least 3,471.
Aid workers in the hard-hit city of Mandalay, near the epicentre of the earthquake, said on Sunday that rains and winds hit tent camps in the area overnight and in the morning, soaking survivors and their belongings.
More bouts of rain were expected later in the day, while temperatures were also forecast to climb to 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit).
“The weather is very extreme,” Tun Tun, a specialist with the United Nations Development Programme, told the AFP news agency.
Aid agencies have warned the combination of unseasonable rains and extreme heat could cause outbreaks of disease, including cholera, among quake survivors, who are camping in the open.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit a wide swath of Myanmar, home to 50 million people, causing significant damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyidaw.
It left many areas without power, telephone or mobile phone connections, and damaged roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess. It also worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the country’s civil war that has internally displaced more than three million people and left nearly 20 million in need, according to the UN.
State media in the military-led country now say the earthquake has caused 3,471 deaths and injured 4,671 people, while 214 remain missing.
It has damaged some 5,223 buildings, 1,824 schools, 4,817 pagodas and temples, 167 hospitals and clinics, 169 bridges, 198 dams and 184 sections of the country’s main highway.
Damage has been particularly severe in the city of Sagaing near the epicentre, as well as in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher, who is in Mandalay, described the scale of the damage as “epic” and said survivors, who are “traumatised and fearful”, need food, water, shelter and electricity urgently.
In a video posted to X, Fletcher noted the quake had brought devastation to communities that were already in crisis. “It’s a compounding crisis,” he said. “It’s earthquake, on top of conflict, on top of huge existing need.”
[Aljazeera]
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced he will suspend tariffs on goods imported from the US in an attempt to build a “positive relationship” with President Donald Trump’s administration.
The move comes days after Trump imposed 18% tariffs on Zimbabwean exports to the US.
“This measure is intended to facilitate the expansion of American imports within the Zimbabwean market, while simultaneously promoting the growth of Zimbabwean exports destined for the United States,” Mnangagwa said on X.
Zimbabwe has had strained diplomatic relations with the US since it adopted a controversial land policy about 25 years ago, and because of its poor human rights record.
Trade between the two countries amounted to only $111.6m (£86.6m) in 2024, US government data shows.
The US exported goods worth $43.8m to Zimbabwe in 2024, up 10.6% from the previous year, while imports were down 41% to $67.8m.
Zimbabwean political analyst Tendai Mbanje told AFP news agency that the decision would not result in substantial economic benefits for Zimbabwe and would would only benefit the US.
Prominent Zimbabwean journalist and government critic Hopewell Chin’ono said the president appeared to be trying to “appease” the Trump administration.
Mnangawa possibly hopes that the administration would lift sanctions imposed on him, but it was a “long shot”, he added on X.
[BBC]
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