Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to nearly 20,000 Indian-Americans in New York during his US visit will be beamed live on the giant screens of the iconic Times Square. His speech at the Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan, New York, on September 28 will be shown at Times Square with Indian American Community Foundation (IACF), organisers of the mega event, signing a memorandum of understanding in this regard with Times Square Alliance.
The speech, shown live on the giant screens of the Times Square -- considered to be the hub of the New York City -- would carry English subtitles. For the audio, people can either dial a toll free number to listen the speech live or download an app on their smart phone, people familiar with the event said.
Modi is scheduled to address a 20,000 packed crowd inside the Madison Square Garden for which nearly 40,000 people had applied from across the nation. The live telecast of the speech is expected to help some of these people to listen to Modi's speech at the Times Square -- another historic venue of the New York City.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that IACF has raised about $ 1.5 million for the mega event, while donations are still pouring in from across the United States. Thousands of people have made donations to IACF through its website. Majority of the donations have come from individuals, an IACF official said on condition of anonymity, adding that they are very strict on corporate donations.
IACF is bringing out a souvenir magazine for the occasion and sponsors of the pages are being offered complimentary seats -- which are a few hundred. Such is the response that IACF has run out of those pages in the souvenir and the associated complimentary seats for the Madison Square Garden event, according to one individual familiar with the planning.
IACF has already announced that money raised in excess would be donated to charitable and non-profit organisations. Tickets to the events are free, although prior registration is required. Each attendee will be given a "souvenir", a glossy full colour magazine with content that celebrates the Indian diaspora, the common values of democracy, and content about the Prime Minister and the historic election which his party won.
Cost of advertisement in the souvenir range from $ 2,500 to $ 35,000.
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