Boris Johnson, Adele and Kim Kardashian on guestlist for India's most extravagant wedding

Anant Ambani, 29, and his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant are set to marry on Friday in front of guests including Adele and Boris Johnson. Credit: AP

Boris Johnson, Adele and Kim Kardashian are among the star-studded guestlist set to arrive in India to attend the wedding of the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man.

Anant Ambani, 29, is marrying his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, in what many have dubbed the wedding of the year.

The celebrations are taking place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and their family home.

It comes after months-long prenuptial wedding events that featured performances by popstars including Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

The four-day wedding celebrations begin with a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on Friday followed by a grand reception through the weekend.

The guest list includes former prime ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, the Kardashians, Adele, Lana Del Rey, Drake and David Beckham, according to local media.

The Ambani family has not confirmed the guest list. Police have imposed traffic diversions from Friday to Monday around the wedding venue to handle the influx of guests who will be flying into Mumbai.

Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai is being decorated ahead of the wedding. Credit: AP
Workers decorate the venue ahead of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani's wedding. Credit: AP

Who are the Ambani family?

The father of the groom, Mukesh Ambani, 66, is the world’s ninth richest man with a net worth of $116 billion, according to Forbes.

He is also the richest person in Asia. His Reliance Industries is a massive conglomerate, reporting over $100 billion in annual revenue, with interests ranging from petrochemicals, and oil and gas to telecoms and retail.

Ambani’s son, Anant, oversees the conglomerate’s renewable and green energy expansion. He also runs a 3,000-acre animal rescue centre in Gujarat state’s Jamnagar, the family’s hometown. The bride, Radhika Merchant, 29, is the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoon Viren Merchant and is the marketing director for his company, Encore Healthcare, according to Vogue.

Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited Mukesh Ambani, right, along with his wife Nita Ambani. Credit: AP

Who has performed at the Ambani wedding?

The Ambani family’s pre-wedding celebrations have been lavish.

In March, they threw a three-day prenuptial bash with guests including former world leaders, tech tycoons and Bollywood megastars, and performances by Rihanna, Akon and Diljit Dosanjh, a Punjabi singer who shot to international fame when he performed at Coachella.

The event was also attended by tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates.

In May, the family took guests on a three-day cruise from Italy to France which included Katy Perry singing her hit “Firework” and a performance by Pitbull, according to media reports.

Mukesh Ambani poses underprivileged couples during a mass wedding organised by him as the part of prenuptial celebrations. Credit: AP

The family also organised a mass wedding for more than 50 underprivileged couples on July 2 as part of the celebrations.

Last week, Justin Bieber performed for hundreds of guests at a private pre-wedding concert which included performances by Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh and Salman Khan.

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