New Delhi, Aug 29 : With exactly two months to go for the mega India-Africa summit, there is frantic activity around the giant Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium where representatives of 54 African countries - including kings, presidents, prime ministers, ministers, diplomats and top officials - would sit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team to deliberate on how to strengthen and invigorate ties for the benefit of the two billion people of India and Africa.
The 18,000 sq metre centrally air-conditioned stadium, built for the 1982 Asian Games and renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, was chosen as the venue for the October 26-29 mega diplomatic bash as it can easily seat 15,000 people as India did not have a modern convention centre which even small countries today boast of. The leaders' summit on October 29 will be preceded by the foreign ministers' meeting and the senior officials' meetings.
The stadium's 56 toilets are being renovated and a fresh coat of paint is being applied to facility which has so far hosted sports and entertainment events. The stadium, the largest such indoor facility in India, is spread over 102 acres. The stadium has a central floor area of 4,500 sq m, enough to comfortably host around 1,000 people at any given time.
The summit would see numerous bilateral meetings between leaders on the sidelines, plus business meets and meetings between their officials - all of which would require many different rooms in the same venue. The basketball court would be recreated into a lounge where the leaders could interact with each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
A large stage is being erected inside the stadium, on which all the African leaders - and Prime Minister Modi - would be able to stand together in a semi-circular formation for the photo-op.
Below the stage, nearly 60 desks are being set up in a single row in semi-circle formation for the African leaders who would attend as well as the African Union head, for Modi and other top dignitaries.
The seating of all leaders in a single row is a diplomatically important and necessary move, as it would signal that all the African leaders are equally important for India. In a take-off similar to that seen in the UN General Assembly, additional desks would be set up to seat officials, including ministers, accompanying each African leader.
The external affairs ministry is making arrangements to accommodate around five-to-seven delegates from each country.
Lounges for the delegates to relax in, cubicles for the staff, business desks and a large media lounge - all made from prefabricated tents would be set up.
The stadium complex, adjacent to the Delhi Secretariat and very close to the Delhi Police Hq, has enough space to park the hundreds of vehicles expected for the event.
