Ambani Wedding: Indian Tycoon’s Son Gets Married After Months of Festivities

Reality star Kim Kardashian and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair are among the international guests who arrived in Mumbai on Friday for the wedding ceremony of the son of Asia’s richest man.

Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, is to marry Radhika Merchant, daughter of pharma magnates Viren and Shaila Merchant.

The four-day wedding celebration in Mumbai is the latest in a series of extravagant parties the family has organised since March.

Major roads in the city will be closed for several hours each day until the festivities end on Monday.

During the months of exuberant festivities, there have already been performances by pop stars such as Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

But it also sparked a backlash, with city residents complaining about traffic jams, while others questioned the ostentatious display of wealth during the seemingly endless festivities.

The city was hit by heavy rainfall on Friday, with flooding reported in some places.

Mukesh Ambani, 66, is currently the 10th richest man in the world with a net worth of $115 billion, according to Forbes. Reliance Industries, founded by his father in 1966, is a massive conglomerate active in sectors ranging from petroleum and retail to financial services and telecom.

Anant Ambani is the youngest of his three children, all of whom serve on the board of Reliance Industries. The 29-year-old is involved in Reliance’s energy businesses and is on the board of the Reliance Foundation.

The couple will marry on Friday in a traditional Hindu ceremony at the Jio World Convention Centre.

According to reports, the family will hold a grand reception throughout the weekend, followed by a final reception for the household staff on Monday.

Internet rumors suggest that Adele will perform at the wedding, but the family has not confirmed this.

Mumbai police have declared the wedding a “public event” as several international and Indian VIPs are expected to be in attendance, Reuters reported.

City police have also imposed traffic restrictions around the venue.

From Friday to Monday, the roads around the convention centre will only be open to “event vehicles” between 1pm India time (0730 GMT) and midnight, the ministry said.

Rajan Mehra, CEO of airline Club One Air, told Reuters the family had chartered three Falcon 2000 jets to transport wedding guests to the event.

“The guests are coming from all over and each plane will fly around the country several times,” he said.

The restrictions have sparked anger among city residents, who say they are already struggling with traffic jams and monsoon flooding.

The wedding festivities began in March, when the family held a three-day celebration in preparation for the wedding in their home state of Gujarat.

Among the 1,200 guests attending the celebration were international celebrities, politicians and business people, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Bill Gates.

The festivities kicked off with a performance by Rihanna on the first night. Diljit Dosanjh, the first Punjabi singer to perform at Coachella, took the stage on the second night, while rapper Akon closed the show on the final day of festivities.

In June, the Ambanis hosted another pre-wedding party, this time a luxury cruise from Italy to France. The Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry and Pitbull performed for the 800 guests, who included Bollywood stars and cricketers.

Then came the latest round of festivities, which began earlier this week when Bieber landed in Mumbai.

Social media is full of photos and videos of him singing to a frenzied audience.

Money was also spent on building 14 temples in a sprawling complex in Jamnagar to showcase India’s cultural heritage and provide a backdrop for the wedding. As part of the festivities, the Ambanis also hosted a mass wedding for 50 underprivileged couples.

On Wednesday, the family organised a bhandara, a community festival for underprivileged people.

The Ambanis have not revealed how much the wedding is costing them, but wedding planners estimate they have already spent between Rs 11 billion and Rs 13 billion. [$132m-$156m]Rihanna was rumoured to have been paid $7 million (£5.5 million) for her performance, while the figure suggested for Bieber was $10 million.