Banijay Asia creates its first-ever live entertainment event
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John Moulding
| 20 October 2023
2 Banijay Asia creates its first ever live entertainment event
Banijay Asia has created its first-ever live entertainment event, producing and executing the pre-match ceremony at the record-breaking India vs Pakistan cricket clash in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

The news comes months after the global launch of Banijay Events, and Banijay’s acquisition of live entertainment specialist, Balich Wonder Studio. Banijay Events says it will look to partner closely with Banijay Asia in the region to expand its efforts in this space.

The pre-match ceremony took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 cricket fans. Titled ‘A Musical Odyssey’, it was orchestrated by BCCI. Directed by Varun Gupta, it included music from Shankar Mahadevan, Arijit Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan and many others.

Banijay Asia says the event showcased its expertise in producing and executing grand-scale, entertainment-driven events that leave an indelible mark on the audience. The company is already a content powerhouse in India, with some of its recent highlights being the mega-hit scripted adaptation of ‘The Night Manager’, successful Originals like Dahan and Tribhanga, and non-scripted blockbusters like The Kapil Sharma Show.

Deepak Dhar, Founder & Group CEO of Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India, said: "We are honoured to be part of an historic evening. This event marked the first foray for Banijay Asia into the live entertainment space, an area which, with the support of Banijay Events, it hopes to grow.”

We reported recently that Disney+ Hotstar witnessed the largest concurrent streaming viewership ever recorded in cricket (across all cricket formats) at this event (held on October 14), with a 35 million audience watching at the same time via streaming alone (ignoring broadcast transmission). World Cup hosts India beat Pakistan in the match.