Neha Dhupia, Riya Sen, Abhishek Bachhan, Rahul Bose — Kolkata has never seen such glamour descend on a football field.
The city, of course, saw football legends like Pele and Maradona on field, but sadly not in their prime. The only exception was Diego Forlan, who had visited Kolkata to appear for a TV reality show soon after winning the golden boot at the 2010 World Cup.
But today was different. Argentina's Lionel Messi, the God of today's football led his national side against the La Vintinos (nickname for the Venezuela side after its burgundy jerseys) for the first-ever FIFA friendly in the country.
With offices downing shutters early and youngsters dressed in blue and white rushing in to catch a glimpse of the Latin American, the city witnessed a virtual shutdown soon after noon.
Nothing, not even the relatively high price of tickets ranging between Rs 1,000-5,000 could stop the mad rush to Yuva Bharati Krirangan. “I have forked out nearly Rs 4,000 bucks to see my idol in action,” said a young IT professional.
Why just in the city? The entire country seems to have been gripped by Messi fever. An entire team of young footballers from Chennai-based Mahogany Football Academy has travelled to Kolkata, at the cost of Rs. 10,000 each, to watch the match.
Jackpot
While it is not known how many visitors flocked the city, the hospitality sector in Kolkata has surely hit a jackpot, riding on the Messi-magic.
Some hotels have seen not just a quantum jump in sales but are seeing choc-a-block bookings, thanks to the frenzy.
Five-star hotels such as the 238-room ITC and 149-room Park confirmed that they been booked “to capacity.” “Many hotels in the city are already full and rooms have been sold out. Location is a prime factor in this regard,” Mr Sudipto Basu, regional sales manager, ITC-Fortuna, told Business Line . The hotel, on its part, has 85 per cent occupancy.
Officials at the EIH-controlled Oberoi Grand and Ambuja-managed Swissotel too claimed a substantial increase in occupancy because of the match.
Hyatt Regency, the hotel where both the Latin American teams are being put up claims to have a “near 100 per cent booking,” while Hotel Hindustan International claimed that there was a 30 per cent jump in its occupancy.
“We have seen a 30 per cent increase in occupancy and currently there are 10-odd rooms which are empty,” said Mr Amit Hathiramani, corporate manager, events and marketing.