2014 IIFA Awards will be held in Tampa; here's what you should know

UPDATE: It looks like three-day IIFA 2014 tickets will cost you upward of $1,800.
UPDATE 2: The awards have been moved to April 24-26.

So, it’s official: We’re hosting the IIFAs next summer.

Tampa will be the first city in the United States to host the awards, which are going on today in Macau for 2013.

Yours truly is completely over the moon. If a stranger on the street handed me $1,000, that still wouldn’t make me as happy as this news has.

After spending much of summer 2011 in pure envy at those that got to attend the awards in Toronto, the awards are coming to my doorstep. (I can tell you I have a green-carpet-ready dress and sari ready to go in any case.)

The reasons for Tampa will play host are numerous but include these: The Indian community here is large and active; Florida is a great place for tourism and is always prepared for huge amounts of tourists; Tampa has the capacity for huge events; Tampa Bay has recently surged in movie popularity (Spring Breakers and Magic Mike, anyone?).

I fully expect much of the Bollywood blogging community to turn up among the thousands of others expected to flock in (the estimated impact to the local hotel industry is 24,000 room nights). And I’m the organizer/head of a Bollywood movie group here that as of this morning had 81 members. So the Bollywood spirit here is strong, and if you choose to come, you will certainly be in good company.

As a local, I’m issuing this open invitation to any and all attending to meet up with me and my Bollywood compatriots in my home base and/or ask me any questions about the area (the one thing I probably can’t answer is what restaurants are good). Email: caitlineoconner @ gmail.

A few things about Tampa Bay:

• The “bay area” is comprised of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Events may be held across all three, though most would likely be in Tampa.
• Collectively, the area is referred to as Tampa Bay, also the name of the big body of water that we’re all situated around. The bay separates Tampa/Hillsborough County from St. Petersburg-Clearwater/Pinellas County.
• This metro is in the top 20 for Indian-American populations in the U.S.; it has the second-largest Indian population in Florida, behind Miami-Fort Lauderdale (where, coincidentally, there is an internationally used cricket ground).
• Gujaratis are the most prominent.
• Tampa Bay is home to a football team, a baseball team, Hulk Hogan, Hooters (yep, the original) and its own movie star: Winter the dolphin of Dolphin Tale.
• In June, the temperatures will likely be in the 90s F (33 C); the heat index may top 100 (40 C). It will also rain. A lot. Hurricanes are a possibility, though one is unlikely.
• The beaches are in Pinellas County (Clearwater-St. Pete); Clearwater Beach is considered the most tourist-friendly.
• Tampa is no stranger to the national stage: It has hosted four Super Bowls and last summer hosted the Republican National Convention.