IIFA 2014 tickets: were going to cost you $1,800+ (USD)

UPDATE: Since a venue and date change, new ticket sales numbers have been announced, including much better prices. Look HERE for details!

Late last month, we had the annual India Festival here in Tampa. Among the dozens of vendors was an IIFA booth, and one of my Bollywood Club members just happened to stop by for a chat (I didn’t).

She passed along this news to me:

IIFA tickets were on presale there at a “discount,” with anticipated full prices listed beside them. The cheap seats? $1,200 at the festival, $1,800 afterward. The ticket prices go all the way up from there to $12,500.

I have been trying but unable to get anyone official to confirm this information to me, and that’s another annoyance, but I thought this was information that needed to be shared — even though no one seems to be publicizing it. I’ve included the photo my friend took as proof if you’re reluctant to trust my nonofficial reporting.

I’m told the deal on IIFA tickets was this: You can’t buy tickets for individual events. That $1,800 is for a three-day pass to the awards, the celebrity cricket match (celebs versus real cricketers, we’re told) and the “Magic of Movies” event. Oh, and it appears if you’re paying for those $1,800 or $2,500 seats, you’ll be sitting outside for that last event, watching a simulcast on a TV screen.

I must confess yours truly is highly disappointed. This is an event in demand, for sure, but there appears to be zero attempt to make this affordable for any average person. Especially those of us normal folks who also have to make trips to India in the same year. (Heck, for this price, I could fly to Mumbai, watch a cricket match and stalk the stars there, right?)

I’m still up for anyone wanting to come and hang out around Tampa during the awards, maybe even checking out some of the stars’ hotels.

But I guess we average folks get to hope for a little less official and a lot more affordable events.