In the past, these Bollywood awards have been held in international cities like Bangkok, Amsterdam and Singapore. But "they wanted to introduce the Bollywood brand to the United States," Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn told NPR.
"It had never been here before, so they picked a city where there's a big Indian-American community, with the biggest media market in the state of Florida. So it made sense for a lot of reasons, and one thing we know how to do is put on a big show."
"This is nothing but glitz and glam and lights and music and beautiful people," Buckhorn said.
Indian-Americans and some non-Indian fans have flocked to the Bollywood events this week,
