Ambani wedding: BKC staff get WFH notice; Mumbai faces traffic disruptions

Traffic restrictions have been implemented for the three days during which Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's wedding is set to take place

Several offices in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) have instructed employees to work from home until July 15 due to traffic diversions and restrictions for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding from July 12-14, according to a report by Business Today. The wedding will take place in Mumbai at the Jio World Convention Centre.

Ambani - Merchant wedding schedule

Wedding festivities for Ambani and Merchant’s long-awaited wedding will take place over three days in Mumbai and will see attendees from all around the world, which includes many high-profile guests. Everyone from Former UK PM Boris Johnson to Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian, as well as, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet, and Pret a Manger CEO Pano Christou is expected to be in attendance.

Wedding date: July 12

Shubh Ashirwad: July 13

Mangal Utsav: July 14

A special reception for Ambani’s household staff is planned for July 15, following traditional Hindu rituals and the reception over two days.

Traffic restrictions have been implemented, allowing only ‘event vehicles’ near the Jio World Convention Centre between 1 pm and midnight from July 12-15. Mumbai’s notorious traffic congestion is expected to worsen, especially during the monsoon season.

Ambani wedding: Luxury hotels fully booked

Ahead of the event, top hotels in the city have been booked to accommodate the high-profile guests. Hotels around the venue, such as ITC, The Lalit, and Taj, are booked for the guests and team. Luxury hotels in BKC are offering rooms between Rs 16,000 and Rs 1 lakh per night. Rooms at Hotels Trident and Oberoi in Mumbai are fully booked from July 10-14. For reference, rooms priced at Rs 10,250 per night plus taxes on July 9, are priced at Rs 16,750 plus taxes on July 15. Most rooms are sold out between July 10-14.

So far, Rihanna has already performed at the three-day pre-wedding bash in Gujarat and Justin Bieber performed at a pre-wedding ceremony on July 5. A prenuptial luxury European cruise was also organised with 800 guests in attendance, including Bollywood stars and cricketers. A haldi ceremony was also held at Antilia on July 4.
 

For the upcoming ceremonies, media reports indicate that folk singer Mame Khan will perform Rajasthani folk and Bollywood songs, while rapper Honey Singh is also expected to perform.

Rajan Mehra, CEO of Club One Air, mentioned that the Ambanis have hired three Falcon-2000 jets to ferry wedding guests, expecting over 100 private planes to be used for the events.

‘Public event’ status given to wedding

The wedding, deemed a ‘public event’ due to the presence of international and Indian household names, has raised the ire of locals. Social media is buzzing with complaints about the special treatment and traffic disruptions. Some locals question the classification of the event as public and express frustration over the inconvenience caused.

“Is anant Ambani marriage a public event??? Why is the normal public disturbed for some one marriage???” asked one user on X.

The wedding and series of pre-wedding events as well as their extravagance have also led to many memes flooding the internet, with netizens asking when will the couple finally tie the knot?

“Ambani’s pre-wedding event is no less than a multiverse madness,” one X user wrote.