Winners of CIBC IIFA Bollywood Moves dance competition to fulfill dance dreams on the global stage
TORONTO, June 21, 2011 /CNW/ - CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM), the presenting sponsor of the 2011 IIFA Celebrations in Toronto, proudly welcomes the world to Canada as the glamour, creativity and celebrities of Bollywood make their North American debut.
The 2011 IIFA Celebrations are taking place from June 23rd to 25th, culminating in the awards show at Toronto's Rogers Centre on June 25th in front of a sell-out audience of 22,000 people, and with an expected world-wide audience of 700 million viewers.
"For the past six months in the lead-up to this weekend's celebrations, CIBC has engaged its clients, employees and all Canadians with exciting and unique events and activities," said Raza Hasan, Senior Vice-President, CIBC. "By far, one of the highlights of our IIFA activities was our nationwide dance competition which is giving two exceptional young Canadian dancers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance on the IIFA stage this Saturday."
Mississauga's Chase Constantino and North Vancouver's Kalpita Desai, the two winners of the CIBC IIFA Bollywood Moves Dance Competition held on June 11th, will be joining world renowned choreographer Shiamak Davar and the IIFA dance team at the Awards show.
"CIBC is thrilled to help make the dance dreams of these two young people come true," said Mr Hasan.
To officially welcome the world to Toronto, CIBC also introduced a highly visible marketing campaign that has transformed the arrivals areas at Terminals 1 and 3 of Toronto's Pearson airport with the themes of Culture, Creativity, and Glamour throughout the month of June.
"Our goal at Pearson is to welcome international visitors to Toronto, and particularly to the 2011 IIFA awards," said Veni Iozzo, CIBC's Senior Vice President of Marketing. "The IIFA Celebration in Toronto is a major international cultural event that is expected to draw more than 40,000 people to Toronto. With our airport campaign, we wanted to make sure the CIBC and Toronto Pearson welcome to these visitors is equally impressive."
CIBC's two unique contests - the CIBC IIFA Bollywood Dance Moves Competition and the CIBC IIFA Golden Ticket Contest - gave Canadians a chance to experience the IIFAs in premium style. CIBC also hosted 10 free screenings of IIFA-nominated movies across the GTA, as well as branch and client events and a two-day Bollywood festival in Toronto that showcased music and dance performances.
CIBC is the presenting sponsor of the 2011 IIFA Celebrations in Toronto. The IIFA Awards, fondly known as the 'Bollywood Oscars', are the annual awards for India's global movie industry. The event, taking place in North America for the first time, and is expected to attract over 40,000 visitors to Toronto as well as a global audience of 700 million viewers.
Details of all of CIBC's IIFA-related events and activities can be found on CIBC's dedicated website, www.cibciifa.ca.
About CIBC
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11 million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada, and has offices in the United States and around the world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.
Image with caption: "Kalpita Desai and Chase Constantino, CIBC IIFA Bollywood Dance Move Winners, welcome the world to Canada. (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20110621_C7750_PHOTO_EN_01.jpg
Image with caption: "CIBC transformed the arrivals areas at Terminals 1 and 3 of Toronto's Pearson airport to welcome international visitors to the 2011 IIFA awards. (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20110621_C7750_PHOTO_EN_02.jpg
Image with caption: "More than 10,000 Bollywood fans filled Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square for the finale of the CIBC IIFA Bollywood Dance Moves Competition. (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20110621_C7750_PHOTO_EN_03.jpg
Image with caption: "Kalpita Desai and Chase Constantino, CIBC IIFA Bollywood Dance Move Winners, welcome the world to Canada. (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20110621_C7750_PHOTO_EN_04.jpg
