Toronto to host Bollywood's global awards in 2011.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, the Indian version of the Oscars, will be held in Greater Toronto Area of Canada, on June 16-19, 2011. The awards travel to different international cities every year and for the first time they will be held in North America. Bollywood actors Vivek Oberoi and Celina Jaitely, in the presence of Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty, made the announcement on Wednesday  in India's entertainment capital Mumbai. "To win this privilege to host the 2011 IIFA awards...you need to know that Bollywood is in Ontario, especially Toronto. I was telling our stars here that Toronto city is the city of 5 billion people; 52 percent or half of the people living here were born outside the country. And a big component of that comes from the Asian community, particularly from India. So this is going to be big, this going to be loud, this going to be exciting and it's going to build on the reputation we are looking to harden every passing year as host for the international film festivals," said McGuinty. A joint release by IIFA and the Ontario government said that the awards should attract about 40,000 visitors to the city and another 350 million viewers to television screens the world over. South Asians make up the largest visible minority in Toronto, with about 300,000 - 12 per cent of the entire city's population - living there. Jaitley told reporters that Canada is a big base for Bollywood as there is hug fan following there. "Well, Canada is big base for tour film industry. And I am sure we are very excited to go there. And this IIFA will be really big because a large number of our fans are from Canada. So we are really looking forward to this," said Jaitley. India, home to the world's largest and most prolific film industry, has tried to broaden its global appeal through the annual IIFA awards, held in a different city each year. The awards were founded in 2000 and honours artistic and technical achievement each year in Bollywood. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has served as the brand ambassador for the academy and prizes. IIFA ceremonies have been previously hosted by Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg and Bangkok.(ANI)