NEW DELHI: Many factors, including unfavourable weather, lack of venues, and G-20 events have forced the government to postpone the International Film Festival which the Delhi government planned in August, officials in the know of the project said.
The festival was lined up in August in the run-up to the G-20 events slated for September this year. According to officials, the cumbersome weather conditions in the monsoon season and the paucity of venues due to the G-20 summit forced the tourism department to postpone the event till the end of the year. They said that all prominent venues and hotels in the city have been booked in advance for G-20 delegates leaving no room for the foreign visitors who are likely to attend the festival.
“After multiple discussions on the struggle the invites would have to face in finding a lodging place and also the lack of venues to arrange screenings, we decided to postpone the event. Besides, the adverse weather condition during monsoon will also become a deterrent for people to attend the event,” a senior official looking after the project said.
Meanwhile, another senior official said that the Tourism department has not even submitted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the feel festival so far to the city government for approval. However, the official also said that all formalities are expected to be completed soon and the tourism department will be ready to host the vent by December. “It will take us three to four more months.
We have booked a venue at Siri Fort Stadium with a tentative schedule for the first week of December. We are identifying more venues as well. However, the official announcement is yet to be made,” the official added. The proposal to organize the film festival was announced in the annual budget of the Delhi government for Financial Year 2022-23, with a motive to promote Delhi’s art, culture, and tourism. Later, the government planned to hold it in August to mark the G-20 summit. However, no official announcement was made in this regard.
‘All prominent venues, hotels booked for G-20 event’ The cumbersome weather conditions in the monsoon season and the paucity of venues due to the G-20 summit forced the tourism department to postpone the event till the end of the year. They said that all prominent venues and hotels in the city have been booked in advance for G-20 delegates leaving no room for the foreign visitors who are likely to attend the festival. The festival was lined up in August in the run-up to the G-20 events slated for September this year.
