JOIN USA trip towards the Salt Lake Stadium from Kolkata city is usually a laborious effort. A nearly 15 kilometers stretch may take an eternity, courtesy unruly traffic and roads that were last repaired during a British Governor General’s time.
But Monday offered a welcome relief as the taxi whizzed past the distance with minimal signals and well-controlled traffic. The opening ceremony of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League will be staged in the Salt Lake stadium, one of the largest football arenas in Asia with a capacity exceeding the one-lakh mark, on Tuesday. The opening ceremony will start at 7.30 pm.
The event promises to be a cracking one if Shah Rukh Khan can be believed. King Khan, the central figure in the ceremony, has promised it to be “one of its kind” and a “never before seen affair.”
“The opening night of IPL 2013 will be a spectacular ceremony, the likes of which India has never seen before," Shah Rukh said. "I will be performing to some of my songs. Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, two of my co-stars, will also be there. Pitbull, the international rapper, will also thrill the audiences," Shah Rukh said.
An all-round effort to make the show memorable is conspicuous. For the masses, there are various dishes of entertainment. Apart from Shah Rukh, Kolkata will see performances by Bollywood divas, flying drummers, Chinese percussionists and the event will culminate with fireworks.
“Shah Rukh loves Kolkata, and he is already very excited to perform there. Katrina will be performing there for the first time. When Pitbull was told that he is being invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the IPL 2013, and Shah Rukh would also be performing as well, he agreed to come within minutes,” said Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the IPL.
Explaining further he said, “The opening ceremony will be as outstanding as the cricket that we will be witnessed over the subsequent seven weeks.”
Let the cricketainment begin then!