Brisbane: The Indian diaspora in Australia will seek to recreate the Madison Square Garden magic when they will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney in the country's largest indoor arena.
Modi, who is the first prime minister to visit Australia in 28 years after Rajiv Gandhi, will leave for Sydney on Monday on the second leg of his four-city tour of this country. He will be on a whirlwind six-hour visit to Sydney before proceeding to Canberra Monday night and later to Melbourne.
"Modi fever grips Sydney," the Canberra Times said in a headline while carrying a report on its online edition.
"The city will get a dose of Modi-mania on Monday when the Indian Prime Minister makes a quick-fire, high-energy visit," it said.
More than 16,000 members of the Indian diaspora will pack Allphones Arena at Olympic Park to salute Modi at a community reception. About 5,000 more are expected to be watching the evening event on big screens outside.
"Looks like it's gonna be India day in Sydney tomorrow," Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry, tweeted.
"Enthusiasm builds in Sydney. Even before PM ends Brisbane leg, excitement builds up at Sydney event," another tweet said.
"Everyone just can't wait," Balesh Singh Dhankhar, the spokesman for the event organisers was quoted as having said in the Australian media. "The temperature of the festive mood is rising."
More than 200 Modi fans left Melbourne bound for Allphones Arena on Sunday night on a specially a chartered train dubbed the "Modi Express."
Playground of the biggest of rock stars, the iconic Madison Square Garden (MSG) arena in New York erupted in rapturous applause to the words of Prime Minister on September 29 during his visit to the US.
Packed to the capacity with around 20,000 NRIs, the MSG in downtown Manhattan reverberated with chants of "Modi Modi" much before the Prime Minister arrived.
Tickets for the event were sold out while hundreds others waited in front of a giant screen at the Times Square to hear Modi speak.
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