With Yorkshire being chosen to host the 2007 International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, it will touch off a new high in the interface between Britain and Bollywood.

Quintessential English towns such as Sheffield, Bradford, York, Hull and Leeds will play host to several IIFA awards related events that are expected to be attended by thousands of Asians from the region and elsewhere in Britain.

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who once played for Yorkshire in the county season, has reportedly backed the region's bid to host the event that is expected to bring social and economic gains to the region in north England.

Reports from Dubai, where the IIFA 2006 was held in the weekend, said that Yorkshire's bid - prepared over several months by the Yorkshire Tourist Board and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward - had been selected over that of New York. The winning presentation was titled "Yorkshire - Love at first sight".

The Yorkshire region's five million population comprises a large segment of Asians. The event is expected to boost tourism income across the region by nearly 10 million pounds. The inaugural IIFA awards event was held at London's Millennium Dome in 2000.

The event in summer 2007 is expected to attract nearly 30,000 people from Europe, India, southeast Asia and the US, and signifies the exalted status the Indian film industry has attained in Britain.

Indian films are some of the highest box office earners in Britain - a trend that began with "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", which was also largely filmed here.

In 2007, the event will be held in Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York and Hull. The event will climax on day three with a glittering Oscar-style awards ceremony at Sheffield's Hallam Arena.

The focus, however, will be on Leeds on the second day, when the city centre will be transformed into a Bollywood theme park with Indian flags, art, dance, fashion, food and classic Indian movies projected onto the sides of buildings.

Besides, Headingley has been lined up to stage a charity cricket match with an IIFA XI taking on sporting stars and local dignitaries.

Yorkshire Forward, one of the local bodies supporting the bid, has so far invested 2.35 million pounds to bring the event to the region. Local officials believe that the event will forge stronger business and cultural links between Yorkshire and India. Plans for the 2007 event include hosting a Global Trade Forum and world premiere of a major Hindi movie.

Leeds City Council leader Coun Andrew Carter said: "We are hugely enthusiastic about the opportunity to showcase to an international audience the true spirit of our multi-cultural communities."

Britain has been wooing India's film industry in a big way, ever since Indian producers started flocking the sylvan locales for shooting. Industry estimates say that tourism gets a major boost with people from the Indian subcontinent eager to visit locales where prominent films have been shot.

British tourism authorities also brought out a "Bollywood tourist map", identifying places where blockbusters were shot. A recent industry survey revealed that as many as one in five visitors from India come to Britain after seeing the country on screen.

The Indian film industry's key position in Britain's tourism and culture plans is reflected in the visits of Indian producers organised by various regions, offering tax concessions and facilities for shooting.

A group of producers from Mumbai recently visited Northern Ireland to check out possible film locations and meet local industry personnel.

A visit to cinema halls in London or other towns where Indian films are shown reveals that those in the audience are not only from the Indian subcontinent but also "white Bollyphiles", who find the increasing practice of sub-titling in English a great help.

In academic circles here, Indian films are no longer seen as quaint, gaudy and oriental items, but a resilient cultural powerhouse in the subcontinent that challenges the near-global domination of Hollywood films.