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The Ambani wedding guest list is stranger than fiction

Here’s a brief, previously unimaginable list of attendees you'll be seeing all over your social media feeds very soon.
12 Jul, 2024

From the start of their wedding festivities with an ‘intimate’ engagement in December to today, seven months and several events later, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant have taken extravagance and luxury to new heights with each of their pre-wedding festivities. But apart from the overwhelming display of wealth, what has caught our eye is the guest list for their wedding, which is a rather strange array of people.

While most South Asians are no stranger to over-the-top weddings, most were left speechless at the colossal scale of the pre-wedding events; making the idea of the real thing almost unfathomable.

With the official wedding finally upon us, let’s take a little look at the guest list that is guaranteed to make you even more confused with its range of foreign politicians, business people, and celebrities.

Who’s attending

Mark Zuckerburg

This isn’t a surprise but the CEO of Facebook himself, Mark Zuckerburg, will attend the wedding with his wife Priscilla Chan.

In case you missed it, they were actually guests at one of the many pre-wedding events, specifically the 1,200-guest pre-wedding party in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Kim and Khloe Kardashian

This one is very strange. Two of the Kardashians, Kim and Khloe, received a warm welcome when they touched down in India on Friday ahead of the big events around the corner.

How do the Kardashians know the Ambanis? Are they giving them tips on how to launch a Keeping Up With the Ambanis show?

John Cena

On Friday morning, wrestler-turned-actor John Cena landed in India and has been confirmed to attend the wedding. He recently announced his retirement from wrestling, so maybe while he’s in India he’ll line up his next gig — Bollywood.

Mike Tyson

Alongside Cena, there have been reports that renowned boxer Mike Tyson will also attend the wedding. We’d make a joke about biting ears but we aren’t sure you’d want to hear it.

Tony Blair

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair was seen arriving in Mumbai for the wedding.

Although this isn’t a big surprise, given that he has been a longtime friend of the Ambani family.

Boris Johnson

Another former British premier will be attending the event — Boris Johnson. He has just landed in India for the wedding.

David and Victoria Beckham

Multiple sources have reported that David and Victoria Beckham will also be attending the wedding, although there is no confirmation of them arriving in India.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino

The current president of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), Giannai Infantino was spotted arriving at the Mumbai airport with his family.

We’re surprised no other footballers, present or former, are on the guest list.

TikToker Julia Chafe

Possibly the most random invitee on this list is American jewellery TikToker Julia Chafe (@jewelswithjules). For months, Chafe has been following the wedding through the endless archives of the top-of-the-line jewellery the Ambani family has worn over the course of these many months of wedding festivities.

She received an invite to the wedding recently as the plus one of Orry, India’s favourite doer and liver, and is currently in India eagerly awaiting posting about wedding looks of the highest caliber

Ivanka Trump

Like Zuckerburg, Ivanka Trump and her family are expected at the wedding after having attended the three day pre-wedding party in March.

Hilary Clinton

She’s attended Ambani events before and it seems like she’s going to be attending this one too.

It seems the Ambanis enjoy inviting unpopular Western politicians to their weddings.

Samsung Electronics chief Jay Lee

Random but maybe sort of expected is the attendance of the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, Jay Lee, who was seen at the Mumbai airport.

It is not surprising that he is among one of the many tech and business tycoons the Ambanis have formed friendships and partnerships with over the years.

The weddings will also feature the who’s who of Bollywood stars, which is expected. This definitely includes Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan and so on and so forth.

Who’s already performed

In the past, the Ambanis have had Beyonce and Chris Martin, the frontman of Coldplay, perform at other family events and weddings.

Here’s an overview of all the events and performers so far:

At the pre-wedding party in March, the Ambanis brought Rihanna back to the stage after more than six years.

This was followed by performances by Diljit Dosanjh and Akon the next two nights.

In May, the wedding festivities continued with a four-day cruise around Italy, with performances from the Backstreet Boys, Pitbull, and David Guetta.

Later that same month, they held a masquerade ball at the Chateau de Croix des Gardes mansion in France, featuring Katy Perry.

The month concluded with a private Andrea Bocelli performance in Portofino, Italy.

Most recently, Justin Bieber performed at the sangeet last week, which was held at mother of the groom Nita Ambani’s arts venue, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.

Who will be performing at the wedding

The Indian media expects Adele, Drake, and/or Lana Del Rey to grace the stage as well as renowned Indian musicians Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam.

Nigerian singer of the 2022 hit ‘Calm Down’, Rema, has arrived in India and is confirmed to be performing, and will reportedly be paid INR 250 million to play just one song (and we could confidently bet INR 250 million that the song is ‘Calm Down’).

On top of that, Luis Fonsi, the Puerto Rican singer of ‘Despacito’ has shared on his Instagram story that he is on his way to India.

Now he could just be heading for a vacation, but our money’s on an Ambani performance.

The actual wedding starts today (July 12) and will continue till July 14.

Comments

Reader Jul 12, 2024 05:32pm
I hope Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy & North Korea's Kim Jong Un are also invited
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Jul 12, 2024 05:56pm
No doubt, in today's capitalistic world, money walks, money talks, money rocks, money mocks and often stalks.
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Abdullah, Killa Abdullah Jul 12, 2024 06:17pm
Nothing new. Rich Arabs have already done this. This is nothing compared to the opulence of the Gulf.
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MBA Jul 12, 2024 06:56pm
Maal ki Masti!
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Ravi Jul 12, 2024 07:21pm
Great show.
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Taj Ahmad-USA Jul 12, 2024 07:30pm
My congratulations to Ambani family on this beautiful day of wedding of their son in this beautiful guest from all over the world, I wishes myself to be there too.
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Sandeep Singh Jul 12, 2024 07:36pm
welcome
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Batool Nasir Jul 12, 2024 07:37pm
I really feel sorry for people who don't know how to spend their own money sensibly!
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Mushtaq Jul 12, 2024 07:57pm
India's super rich Marriage function extravagance with ugly display of wealth, connections with who is who of the world.. It will remain memorable not only for the Ambanis but the whole world
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Shabbir lakhani Jul 12, 2024 08:36pm
A lavish PR extravanza which will soon be forgotten. Give space in your columns to how to alleviate the grievances of our dignified population.
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Allan Jul 12, 2024 08:52pm
What a history's most disgusting and disgraceful show-off by the Ambani clan by the world's poorest country India and all for what? Majority of Indian masses (over 94%) have no clue who all of these entertainers are. It's one of the most disgusting even of India's opulence by a handful of uber rich Indians while great majority of Indians have no clean drinking water, homes, school, transportation, healthcare and the most life dependent needs for the masses. Would Elon Musk undertake such a cheap show-off?
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John Jul 12, 2024 10:08pm
India once a colony of the West has now become an entertainment Junction for global celebrities.
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Aman Jul 12, 2024 10:14pm
And then they lived happily ever after!
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Kurng Jul 12, 2024 10:56pm
All the best for the wedding
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UM Jul 12, 2024 10:58pm
Good for them. No more powerful an emotion than the love parents feel for their children.
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Syed Hasni Jul 12, 2024 11:18pm
RSVP: Dear Anant and Rashida, congratulations on your big day , I apologize would not be able to attend the grand party due to preoccupation , writing a book these days-consequences of simple and “Quick”wedding.- yours Imran
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Din Jul 13, 2024 12:06am
People are dying of hunger and these few elites are wasting money as it is going out of fashion. Shame on them
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Taj Ahmad Jul 13, 2024 03:06am
Congrats to Ambani family on their son’s marriage on this beautiful day with lots of famous dignitaries and world leaders.
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Ranga Jul 13, 2024 03:50am
Only in the subcontinent does this stupidity go on.
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MG Jul 13, 2024 04:44am
Ambani economy is equal or more than many small countries and they can afford to do this
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ENGR Hamid Shafiq Jul 13, 2024 05:16am
It's eastern culture
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B D Sharma Jul 13, 2024 05:46am
Shameful and vulgar display of wealth
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Riaz Jul 13, 2024 06:40am
Congrats to the bride and groom. Hope they enjoy all the festivities. This clearly shows that money can buy anything and everything
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SURINDER KUMAR CHOPRA Jul 13, 2024 06:42am
Sab paise kaa khel hai.
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Joe Jul 13, 2024 06:59am
This is nothing but money power. But to be fair to Mukesh and Neeta , they both donate huge amount of money yearly for welfare of common people.
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Shehzad Kahn Jul 13, 2024 11:36am
what a glory of Wedding ! THANK YOU DAWN for sharing
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SL Jul 13, 2024 11:37am
It's like a zoo
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Ranjit Bawa Jul 13, 2024 01:21pm
It's all business and power policies to doings business and family ties making strong
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subodh maheshwari Jul 13, 2024 01:52pm
This is power of new India, but guess how many poor and hungry people around the world would have benefited with such show-off spending.
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subodh maheshwari Jul 13, 2024 01:56pm
I think you don't know that India is 5th largest economy in the world, and very soon will be third largest, after the USA and China. The day is gone when India was poorest. Today, Indian technocrats and IT professionals hold the highest positions in the world's biggest companies like Googles, Microsoft, Master Card. The list is never ending.
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NYS Jul 13, 2024 03:08pm
@Alan beg my pardon not Elon Musk but Mark Zuckerberg is part of this ceremony
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Viswanath Jul 13, 2024 04:21pm
yes, how dare they! while we common folk spend every minute of our lives thinking of helping the world's poor!
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Phool Jul 13, 2024 06:28pm
On the bright side, the more they spend the better. Some bread crumbs will trickle down to the poor. However, the private jets all these bigshots are taking to reach the venue and the disruptions in the lives of the commoners and other such things are absolute waste with no justification. There should be estimates of the carbon footprint and they should be taxed accordingly. World should come up with trendy and creative ways to tax the rich as opposed to confiscating wealth like a totalitarian state (not that anybody's doing). But what do I know, that's why the 'ph' in my name is pronounced as 'f'
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vinsin Jul 13, 2024 07:56pm
It is great that they have spent the money; many poor people got jobs and some made a lot of money due to this spending.
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Jana Jul 14, 2024 07:13am
You are totally wrong , now india is the 5th largest economy in the world , around 3 lakh startups companies are there , most advanced science and technology achievements are happened in past years by isro and other institutions . See your neighbour with openmind bro.
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najeeb Jul 15, 2024 05:44pm
this would be memorable for ever. They should have also invited Ghulam Ali from pakistan and the top Italianand spanish singers.
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conspriacy_theory Jul 15, 2024 08:36pm
Most of the comments only remind me of "the grapes are sour". They are spending in line with their earnings, which each one of these haters do. Put off your jealousy, relax and enjoy the party.
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Laila Jul 18, 2024 08:46pm
NGL, I would've loved to be a guest at these events. Mainly because I don't get to go to weddings and parties and also like, it's fricking Portofino and Andrea Bocelli. Also I would like to se India. Maybe one day but realistically it's probably not going to happen. When people are rich it's natural to mix with other rich people. And if you can afford to invite celebrities why not. Though personally I prefer a small intimate gathering with people who you know and who are actually happy for you. And not just there to eat, drink and gossip at your expense and sending you nazar.
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