India gears up for first Formula One race
Delhi event demonstrates newfound wealth and power of Indian elite, with most expensive tickets costing up to 130,000
The cars have arrived, the teams are in their luxury suites and 120,000 spectators are on their way to the brand new $200m (124m), 3.2-mile circuit just outside Delhi.
Final preparations were still being made on Friday for Sunday's first Formula One race in India. Tickets for the event almost all sold out, with the cheapest costing 2,500 rupees (33) around two weeks' wages for a labourer. The most expensive corporate boxes are about 130,000.
Then there is the entertainment. Breathless reports of "the magnificence and madness of the much awaited F1 race" have filled society pages of local newspapers for weeks. There are dozens of "F1 parties", a Metallica concert and a 20-minute show by Lady Gaga at a trackside club.
A table for eight at the Amber Lounge, the exclusive club night to be held during the race weekend at The Claridges five-star hotel on the outskirts of Delhi, costs 13,000 for one night. Organisers say this "stupendous amount of cash" is a fair price. All drinks are included.
"We do charge a lot of money but we offer a phenomenal service. Usually there are lots of billionaires, not just millionaires," said Hannah Wright, from the Amber Lounge team.
Among the 800 guests at the club on Saturday night will be Siddharth Trivellore, whose family owns a kitchen appliance company in the southern city of Chennai. The 33-year-old is travelling with 14 male friends to Delhi for "a weekend of debauchery".
Trivellore, a motorsports fan since childhood, said he was "really proud" to see Formula One come to India. "It's great for the sport, great for India. I dreamed of this day. I never thought it would come so soon," he said.
It is clear that the weekend will be an extraordinary demonstration of the new wealth and power of the Indian elite.
A re port released last week by Credit Suisse bank estimated that, after tripling over the past decade, India's total wealth will double over the next five years to reach nearly $9tn. According to Credit Suisse, 170,000 Indians out of a population of 1.2bn are worth between $1m and $50m. According to the Forbes India Rich List 2011, the country has 57 billionaires whose combined wealth is $241bn. Beyond the ultra-rich there are an estimated 62,000 households worth more than 3m. The number is expected to more than treble in the next five years.
"There is a huge hunger for luxury and any kind of activity or accessory that brings the feeling of being part of a global elite is a huge draw," said B Narayanaswamy, director of Ipsos Market Research in Delhi. "Formula One is easy to consume. It's a very accessible sport that doesn't make too many demands. But it still feels exclusive and there's technology, glamour, some risk and it's less fuddy-duddy than golf."
Narayanaswamy added that were was a huge "celebrity culture" in India.
India has seen a series of launches of high-end global brands in recent months. Ferrari, Aston Martin and Harley-Davidson have all started selling in the country. Sponsors for this weekend's race include local companies looking to get global exposure before expanding overseas such as Bharti Airtel, a large Indian mobile phone network as well as global companies such as Mercedes Benz and Red Bull, who are looking to access the growing Indian market.
The local Kingfisher beer and airlines conglomerate sponsors the "Force India" F1 team and sportswear manufacturers Puma are selling a range of F1 clothes and accessories. The Delhi Hard Rock Cafe is organising "speed nights" with merchandise and "high-octane action". Hotels are running F1 champagne brunches.
One recent addition to Delhi's hotel scene is the 270m ultra-luxury Leela, where guests can order a caviar-t! opped pi zza for 130. The pizza was specifically created to bring in locals who want to flaunt their newfound wealth, said Vivek Nair, Leela vice-chairman. The chain has four new hotels opening in other parts of India soon.
"There are a lot of affluent Indians who like to spend $500 on a suite with a dip pool. It's not just foreigners. There is so much money in India too," Nair added.
The new race track is also being seen as a monument to the spirit of private enterprise in India, 20 years after the centrally planned economy was dismantled. It has been built by the Jaypee Group, a huge property development firm, and is part of a much larger project involving housing, sports facilities and retail on green field sites on the outskirts of Delhi. Many have contrasted the smooth preparations for the F1 event with the chaotic failures of the government's efforts before the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The track lies just outside the capital's limits in Uttar Pradesh, the vast northern Indian state which has poverty levels often worse than those in sub-Saharan Africa.
Trivellore said India's pride in the event needed to be tempered with a recognition of the "huge disparities" in income of its 1.2 billion inhabitants.
"You have Formula One but you also have millions of starving children. It's only the cream of the crop, maybe 10% of the population, who will enjoy this weekend. We've still got a lot of problems to sort out."
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