IIFA Awards 2017 grand celebration: Over 25,000 people to attend AR Rahman's concert; Vikas Khanna organises first-ever culinary contest

The 18^th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards is set to take place from July 13-15 at MetLife Stadium in New York.

The three-day extravaganza celebrating the achievement of the Hindi film industry in the past year promises to be a grand affair. This year, IIFA will offer a mix of fashion, dance and music as well as food, as a first-ever culinary contest is being organised by New York-based Indian chef Vikas Khanna, PTI reported.

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The event will start with a press conference, followed by IIFA Rocks on Day 2. IIFA Rocks, to be hosted by Riteish Deshmukh and Maniesh Paul, will celebrate 25 years of AR Rahman in the industry. It is said to feature a never-seen-before medley of musicians, including Rahman, Diljit Dosanjh, Javed Ali, Jonita Gandhi, Benny Dayal, Neeti Mohan and Haricharan Seshadri.

More than 25,000 people are expected to attend Rahman's concert and over 40,000 people will be present at the award function.

The final award night on July 15  will see some power-packed performances by Salman Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sushant Singh Rajput. The award ceremony will be hosted by Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan and promises to be a grand affair. Varun, who will be making his debut at the IIFA Awards, will pay tribute to his father David Dhawan by performing on the filmmaker's chartbuster songs.

Bollywood celebrities have already reached the city. Stars like Salman Khan, who is accompanied by stepmother Helen, Anushka Sharma along with beau Virat Kohli, Shahid Kapoor with wife Mira Rajput and daughter Misha, and others have flown to the city and will be making their presence felt at the award ceremony.