From special workshops to prevent the Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty type faux pas, to producing limited edition 'Yorkshire cloth' - preparations are in final stages across five Yorkshire towns to welcome the glitz and glamour of the Indian film industry June 7-9 for what is widely called the 'Bollywood Oscar' ceremony.

Over 30,000 visitors are expected to visit the region for the International India Film Awards (IIFA). Local authorities have pulled out all stops to ensure the success of the four-day star-studded event that will showcase Yorkshire to a global television audience of millions.

Events have been scheduled across the five quintessential Yorkshire towns of Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Hull and York. The Indian film extravaganza is expected to give the region's economy a 10 million pound boost and will see over 12,000 rooms booked throughout Yorkshire.

The event, called 'IIFA Weekend', has been promoted along with the local slogan, 'Yorkshire: Love at first sight'. Students from several universities based in Yorkshire have enlisted as volunteers for the event.

The celebrations will start with the world premiere of the year's biggest Indian movie on June 7, followed by a celebrity cricket match at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds the next day.

The grand finale on June 9 will see Indian celebrities gather on the famous red carpet before the Idea IIFA Awards ceremony at Sheffield's Hallam FM arena - beamed to audiences around the world.

Other events include an IIFA Film Festival, an IIFA-BAFTA Film Workshop, and the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum.

The business event will features speakers such as Kamalesh Sharma, the Indian high commissioner here, Michael Arthur, the British high commissioner to India, Amit Mitra, secretary-general of FICCI, and prominent Indian-origin entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria.

At the Sheffield Hallam University, special workshops have been designed to ensure that faux pas such as Richard Gere kissing actress Shilpa Shetty in public are avoided. The workshops include raising cultural awareness classes to teach people about Indian culture and cinema.

Phil Crowther of the Sheffield Hallam University told the media: "The sessions will help us to ensure that the stars and visitors to the IIFA enjoy the best of the warm hospitality that Sheffield has to offer. The sessions will also raise awareness of Indian cinema among local people and, in some cases, will introduce people to the genre for the first time."

Meanwhile, Clissold of Bradford, which has been producing high quality woollen textiles for almost 100 years, is rolling out a limited edition of traditional Yorkshire cloth for the occasion. The unique blue fabric features the word 'Yorkshire' gently interwoven in the pinstripe.

The cloth will make a special guest appearance on stage at June 9 awards ceremony. A length will also be presented to IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan.

The suits will be crafted by prominent tailor Raymond Andrews, who has been tailoring for 40 years and running his own business, Raymond Andrews Tailor, for 35 years. He is well known throughout Leeds and the surrounding area for his work based on traditional tailoring methods.

Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) chief executive, David Andrews, said: "The cloth is Yorkshire through and through - from the wording through to its design and manufacture. The region has a long-standing reputation for high-quality cloth and cutting edge design and I am proud that our talents will be showcased to a global TV audience of over 500 million."

The successful bid to host the IIFA Weekend 2007 was undertaken by YTB, with the support of local organisations such as Yorkshire Forward and key partners including Yorkshire Culture, Screen Yorkshire, the business communities and local authorities of the cities of Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, York and Hull.

Mark Harris, leader of Leeds City Council, said: "The IIFA awards are a huge international event which attracts Bollywood stars who have more fans than many major Hollywood actors.

"Winning the right to stage the IIFA awards is a major coup and will showcase our beautiful region to a whole new audience of film producers, fans and international media.

"Leeds is proud to be part of this high-profile event and we will be extending a warm Yorkshire welcome to everyone who attends."