Tag: Narendra Modi Stadium

Coldplay live streaming recalibrates concert culture in India

Mumbai: The live-streaming of Coldplay’s electrifying concert on Disney+ Hotstar has not only brought a surreal experience to millions of fans but has also marked a transformative moment for live concerts in India. Held at the sprawling Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat, the event captured the grandeur of a packed audience of 1,34,000, their glowing wristbands creating a mesmerising spectacle.

Promoted initially by BookMyShow and later live-streamed by Disney+ Hotstar, the concert’s live streaming was a masterstroke. The move catapulted Disney+ Hotstar into the spotlight, positioning it as a digital hub for India’s aspirational youth. For fans across the country, the live stream was a cultural shift akin to Netflix’s game-changing Tyson-Paul fight broadcast.

From the 28-year-old yelling in delight at his favourite song to the nine-year-old dancing in a darkened room to Chris Martin’s vocals, the event resonated deeply with fans of all ages. While production values weren’t on a par with Taylor Swift or Madonna concerts, Martin’s Hindi and Gujarati phrases, banter with cricket star Jasprit Bumrah and tribute to India’s greatest fast bowler ever, singing of Vande Mataram and heartfelt fan interactions made the concert unforgettable. And even more so for folks at home who could not make it to the venue because they could not get a ticket. The broadcast made it feel like you were there – immersive as it was.

The scale and success of the event underscore India’s emergence as a global concert destination. While iconic performers like Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, and Boney M once graced India’s stages, Coldplay’s tour sends a message to the world: India is ready for more.

Streaming platforms and sponsors are taking note of the opportunities. Reports suggest the Disney+ Hotstar live stream was a revenue-sharing model, with the concert’s title sponsorship fetching around Rs 10 crore and total streaming revenues touching Rs 18 crore.

With 300,000 tickets sold at an average price of Rs 6,000, the Coldplay India Tour generated nearly Rs 250 crore (including sponsorship), demonstrating the immense potential of the live concert economy. (The above figures might well be an underestimate. Disney+ Hotstar revealed that the concert attracted 83 lakh views and 165 million minutes of watch time after this comment piece was written. The livestream’s success was particularly pronounced in seven key regions – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, NCR Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal – which accounted for 85 per cent of the total viewership.)

As India steps into the spotlight, the onus now lies on talent and tour managers to capitalise on this momentum. With better planning, sponsorships, and a robust annual schedule featuring both global and Indian artists, the live concert scene in India is poised for a vibrant future. Coldplay and Disney+Hotstar may have just opened the floodgates for what promises to be a new era for music lovers and performers alike.

We also asked ChatGpt to comment on our comment and write a comment piece on the Coldplay performance and this what it came up with. click here.

January 27, 2025
HistoryTV18 to narrate story of Narendra Modi Stadium

Mumbai: HistoryTV18’s latest documentary “Modern Marvel: World’s Largest Cricket Stadium” premiering on the 17 September at 9 p.m, is the amazing story of building cricket’s largest arena on the historic Motera ground in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.

The brand new Narendra Modi Stadium, inaugurated by the president of India earlier this year, seats as many as 1,32,000 spectators. This makes it the world’s largest cricket stadium by seating capacity, surpassing the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia. It was rebuilt at a cost of Rs 800 crore in just 38 months.

Now, HistoryTV18 presents an in-depth documentary on this massive feat of design and engineering – constructing a futuristic stadium that is purpose-built for the modern-day game. Filmed on location in 4K and high-definition, the documentary reveals never-seen-before aspects of the logistics, architecture and planning that go into building a sporting venue of this scale while presenting jaw-dropping facts bound to fascinate viewers.

The film also features cricketing luminaries such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri along with cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Viewers will also get insights and interesting details from BCCI secretary Jay Shah as well as from former Indian cricketers Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel.

“Modern Marvel: World’s Largest Cricket Stadium” will not just enthral viewers with astonishing facts and figures about the newest landmark in the world of cricket, it also features India’s cricketing superstars reminiscing about historic moments in Indian cricket and career milestones that were reached on the old Motera pitch.

Ravi Shastri speaks about playing the first test match ever on this ground against the West Indies in 1983. While ‘Haryana Hurricane’ and India’s World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev talks about Sunil Gavaskar becoming the first cricketer in the history of the game to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket. All this and more happened at Motera. “It was a big thing for us to celebrate… a cricketer from our generation made 10,000 runs, so it was massive,” says Kapil Dev.

While Gautam Gambhir remembers playing a tough World Cup quarter-final against Australia in 2011, Parthiv Patel recollects that Kapil Dev had also broken a record right here in Motera surpassing Richard Hadlee to become Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker with 432 scalps. Jay Shah reminds viewers that it was also here that Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar had scored his maiden double century in test cricket.

And now, upon this hallowed ground has risen Ahmedabad’s glittering new edifice, a modern marvel of design and engineering and a fitting ode to a sport that has given billions of people and generations of Indians, some of their most cherished memories.

HistoryTV18’s ‘Modern Marvel: World’s Largest Cricket Stadium’ chronicles the construction of this newest landmark of India’s favourite sport. The new stadium is twice the size of Eden Gardens in Kolkata, and four times larger than the historic Lord’s in London. The Narendra Modi Stadium has been built by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which is also credited with constructing some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, including the world’s tallest statue.

The sheer scale and complexity of the Gujarat Cricket Association’s grand project also meant bringing in design architects from Australia, roofing experts from the US, specialised canopy fabric from Japan, cables from Italy, and revolutionary LED stadium lighting from Spain. With attention to detail and revealing interviews with the people behind this mega build, HistoryTV18’s documentary provides a fast paced and compelling narrative of the vision and construction with gob-smacking facts that make the stadium a true marve.

The programme is the latest in HistoryTV18’s offering of originals that tell engaging and entertaining stories of India that are relevant, informative and have best-in-class production values. Speaking about the film, Jay Shah said, “The Narendra Modi Stadium is one of the great Modern Marvels of the 21st century. HistoryTV18 has showcased cricket’s largest arena in a manner befitting its scale and grandeur.”

A+E Networks | TV18 managing director Avinash Kaul said, “At HistoryTV18, we believe in the power of great storytelling. Our teams work hard to bring compelling stories to life, creating content that’s differentiated, visually spectacular and relevant for our viewers. The Narendra Modi Stadium is a tribute to the nation’s love for cricket and an icon of rising India. We’re proud to have had the opportunity to tell this remarkable story and I’m sure our viewers will enjoy it immensely.

Viewers can watch “Modern Marvel: World’s Largest Cricket Stadium” only on HistoryTV18 and HistoryTV18 HD.

September 16, 2021
Vivo IPL 2021 returns home, will begin in Chennai from 9 April

New Delhi: The stage is finally set for one of the biggest cricketing events to begin. The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council has announced the schedule for Vivo IPL 2021 to be held in the country from 9 April.

The sporting extravaganza will return home after two years during which the world braved a pandemic and lockdown restrictions were put in place to combat it. The Vivo IPL 2021 will be hosted by Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, said BCCI honorary secretary Jay Shah on Sunday.

However, all the matches will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament, added Shah.

The season will kickstart on 9 April in Chennai with a high octane clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The world’s largest cricket stadium – Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the playoffs as well as the final on 30 May. The newly-built stadium that hosted India’s second pink ball fixture at home will witness its first ever IPL.

Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight games each. All the matches will be played at neutral venues and no team will play at their home venue. All teams will play at four out of six venues during the league stage, said the BCCI.

There will be a total of 11 double headers where six teams will play three afternoon matches and two teams will play two afternoon matches. The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 pm IST start while the evening games will have a 7:30 pm IST start.

After hosting the tournament safely and successfully in the UAE last year with all safety protocols in place, the BCCI said that it is confident of hosting the IPL at home with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount. “The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk,” said Shah.

The complete fixtures for Vivo IPL 2021 can be accessed HERE.

March 8, 2021