'Howdy Modi' event to be largest gathering for foreign leader other than Pope: Organisers

The "Howdy Modi" event here on September 22 will be the largest gathering for an elected foreign leader other than the Pope, the organisers said here on Friday and noted that it will be a celebration of the cultures of India and the US.

The event on September 22, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, will see the giant NRG stadium here filled to the capacity, a spokesperson for Texas India Forum (TFI) said.

"The audience will be the largest gathering ever for an elected foreign leader visiting the US, other than the pope. It will be a history-making audience of over 50,000 Indian Americans and we are very proud of the numbers. It is a celebration of the culture of the unity of America and India," the spokesperson said.

She said the speeches will be preceded by a 90-minute cultural programme which will be broadcast live in Hindi, English, and Spanish to over two billion people all across the world.

The spokesperson said the audience will hear PM Modi speak about the deepening US-India ties strengthened by the contributions of over three million Indian-Americans in the US.

She said the Prime Minister is also expected to lay out the vision for India's growth and development after his second successive win in the Lok Sabha elections.

Lauding the US President for deciding to attend the event, the spokesperson said, "this is a special gesture to extend goodwill and friendship to the people of India as well as the Indian American diaspora."

"A bipartisan group of senior elected officials and leaders from the US government besides senators and governors will also be attending the event. The Texas India Forum would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of them," she said.