Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured by the World Economic Forum for outstanding excellence in art.

The Crystal Award is to be conferred on the veteran actor at a ceremony at Davos, Switzerland later Saturday. Noted Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer Mallika Sarabhai will also be hnoured for outstanding excellence in the field of culture.

The event will be attended by former British prime minister Tony Blair, Microsoft's Bill Gates and leaders from several countries among others.

"I had no idea there is so much visibility for Indian cinema in other parts of the world. This is just so amazing. This recognition, this attention, this awareness to our world and our craft is very overwhelming, " wrote Big B on his blog.

The 39th annual gathering of economic leaders at Davos will focus on ways to ward off recession and save jobs amidst a financial crisis in the world markets.

After receiving the Crystal Award and staying on for a day at Davos, Amitabh will fly to New York to attend the premiere of "Pink Panther 2" on Feb 3 along with son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya, who stars in the film.