Justin Bieber Heads Wedding Gala Thrown by Asia's Richest Man

Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pose for a picture during their pre-wedding ceremony in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pose for a picture during their pre-wedding ceremony in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
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Justin Bieber Heads Wedding Gala Thrown by Asia's Richest Man

Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pose for a picture during their pre-wedding ceremony in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pose for a picture during their pre-wedding ceremony in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber entertained some of India's biggest celebrities in the latest instalment of months-long wedding celebrations thrown for the son of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Bieber, who shot to prominence as a teenage heartthrob, is among several global celebrities who have jetted into India for the marriage festivities of Ambani's younger son Anant and fiancee Radhika Merchant.

He and Merchant, both 29, were childhood friends and are set to marry in a three-day Hindu ceremony beginning on July 12.

Bieber, who flew in from Los Angeles, was pictured at the Mumbai airport Friday morning wearing an oversized pink T-shirt and a bucket hat, Agence France Presse reported.

Footage of his concert in the financial hub that night shared on social media showed him performing his 2015 hit "Sorry" in front of hundreds of VIP revellers.

Bollywood star Salman Khan and former India cricket captain M.S. Dhoni were among the celebrity guests in attendance on Friday.

Indian media reports said Bieber was rumoured to have been paid up to $10 million for the performance.

Anant Ambani and Merchant have already staged two elaborate and star-studded parties ahead of this month's main event, including a three-day gala in February in Gujarat state.

There, Rihanna performed her first concert since last year's Super Bowl for guests including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and former US president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka.

In June, the couple embarked on a four-day Mediterranean cruise, where singer Katy Perry performed at a masquerade ball at a French chateau in Cannes.

The Backstreet Boys, US rapper Pitbull and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also provided entertainment.

Anant's billionaire tycoon father is no stranger to throwing a costly wedding.

He held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100 million and saw US singer Beyonce perform.

Ambani, 67, the chairman of Reliance Industries, has a fortune of more than $113 billion, the 11th wealthiest person in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires list.

He is also a key ally of India's right-wing Hindu nationalist leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ambani inherited a thriving industrial enterprise spanning oil, gas and petrochemicals.

He grew it into a commercial behemoth with lucrative interests in retail, telecommunications and an Indian Premier League cricket team.

Merchant is the daughter of prominent pharmaceutical moguls.



George Harrison's Early Beatles Guitar Could Fetch $800,000 at Auction

George Harrison (R) jokes with Rolling Stones' Ron Wood during a tribute to Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden in New York in this October 16, 1992 REUTERS/Jeff Christensen JC/MMR/AA/File Photo
George Harrison (R) jokes with Rolling Stones' Ron Wood during a tribute to Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden in New York in this October 16, 1992 REUTERS/Jeff Christensen JC/MMR/AA/File Photo
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George Harrison's Early Beatles Guitar Could Fetch $800,000 at Auction

George Harrison (R) jokes with Rolling Stones' Ron Wood during a tribute to Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden in New York in this October 16, 1992 REUTERS/Jeff Christensen JC/MMR/AA/File Photo
George Harrison (R) jokes with Rolling Stones' Ron Wood during a tribute to Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden in New York in this October 16, 1992 REUTERS/Jeff Christensen JC/MMR/AA/File Photo

An electric guitar played by the late guitarist George Harrison in the early days of the Beatles will go up for sale at an auction next month where it could be sold for more than $800,000.
Bought from a music store in the band's birth city of Liverpool, Harrison played the Futurama guitar in the early 1960s when the band performed at the Cavern Club, toured Germany and made their first official records for Polydor.
The auctioneers say the Futurama guitar, with its sunburst finish, was one of his most played. They call it "one of the holy grails of historic Beatles guitars" and said it is expected to exceed its estimate price tag of $600,000-$800,000.
Harrison said the guitar was "very difficult" to play but he liked what he called its "futuristic" look.
"It had a great sound," he later told a journalist.
In 1964, he donated the instrument to a rock magazine as a competition prize, but it remained with the publication's editor when the winner opted for a cash prize instead of owning a piece of rock and roll history.
The guitar will be on display at The Beatles Story in Liverpool for the next fortnight before being shown at other museums across Europe. It is due to be auctioned from Nov. 20-22 in the United States.