The end of the week will see one of the biggest events ever in Mauritius. On Friday, the Swami Vivekananda conference centre in Pailles is hosting the Zee Cine Awards ceremony, the most important gathering of Bollywood stars of the year ? the equivalent of the Oscars. The cost of tickets only proves its importance.

The best seats ? in the Celebrity Section ? are available at Rs 20,000. Those who can afford them will have the opportunity to go up the stairs on the red carpet next to their favourite actors and actresses. They will also attend the cocktail, together with all the stars, just before the ceremony.

More affordable tickets are at Rs 7,500 a seat in the Gold Section and the ordinary seats are accessible for Rs 10,000. This is a hint of the standard of this special evening.

The majority of Bollywood stars will be present ? either as nominees for one of the awards or just to attend the event. They are arriving on Thursday and will stay at Indian Resort Spa and the Taj Exotica on the west coast.

Of course the tourist sector in Mauritius is eagerly waiting for this event, as it will certainly be the best advertisement the destination could have dreamt of in India but also in other regions of the world. The five-hour show will be broadcast live by the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) but also by other world media. The organisers are expecting 350 million television viewers on Friday night in about 120 countries?

Mauritius has to succeed in making this show a real success. No amateurish organisation will be tolerated? The country?s reputation is at stake!