IIFA Awards Abu Dhabi: Bollywood stars arrive and rehearsals begin for weekend of shows

The star-studded event on Yas Island will honour the best films and actors from the previous year

Stars and performers for the IIFA Awards, taking place on Friday and Saturday, begin arriving at the celebrity host hotel W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island. All photos: IIFA 2022

Singer Neha Kakkar with husband and singer Rohanpreet Singh.

IIFA Rocks hosts, actor Aparshakti Khurana and director Farah Khan Kunder.

Singer Dhvani Bhanushali will also perform at IIFA Rocks on Friday.

Singer Tanishk Bagchi.

Director Farah Khan Kunder.

Singers Tanishk Bagchi, Asees Kaur and Zahrah S Khan, who will all perform at IIFA Rocks on Friday.

Actor Tiger Shroff.

Actress Sara Ali Khan.

Tiger Shroff, who will perform at the IIFA Awards, takes selfies with fans.

Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, who will perform at IIFA Rocks.

Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh.

Actor and presenter Maniesh Paul.

IIFA Awards host and actor Maniesh Paul.

Actor Riteish Deshmukh, who will also host the IIFA Awards.

Deshmukh greets fans.

IIFA Awards host Salman Khan arriving at Dubai Airport.

Bollywood star Salman Khan.

Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez arriving at the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island.

Jacqueline Fernandez is one of the celebrity guests at the IIFA Awards gala on June 4.

Shahid Kapoor is one of the performers at the IIFA Awards on June 4.

Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor arrives at the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island.

Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal.

Arjun Rampal with girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades and their son Arik arrive at the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island.

Singer Guru Randhawa, who is one of the performers at the IIFA Rocks, arrives at the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island.

Celebrities and performers for the International Indian Film Academy Awards have started to arrive on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi for a weekend of celebrations.

The event will begin with IIFA Rocks on Friday, a night dedicated to music and fashion.

The IIFA Awards, which honours the best Hindi films and talents of the previous year, is usually held over a number of days, with a gala awards night as the finale, which will be on Saturday this year.

Etihad Arena will host both the shows, but properties across Yas Island are already abuzz with activity. Bollywood director Farah Khan Kunder and actor Aparshakti Khurana, who will host IIFA Rocks, were photographed outside the W Abu Dhabi — Yas Island, the official celebrity hotel for the weekend.

Scroll through the gallery below for pictures from rehearsals at the Etihad Arena:

Performers announced so far for the night include composer and singer Devi Sri Prasad, music whizz Tanishk Bagchi and singers Neha Kakkar, Asees Kaur, Ash King, Zahrah S Khan and Dhvani Bhanushali. Punjabi pop star Guru Randhawa and rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh will also present their new collaboration track, Designer.

On Saturday, actors Tiger Shroff and Shahid Kapoor, who are both known for their high-energy stage presence, will share the stage with Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday, Sara Ali Khan, Divya Khosla Kumar and Nora Fatehi. Abhishek Bachchan was also added as a performer on Tuesday.

“IIFA is like family to me and it feels good to come back and perform. After being disconnected physically for more than two years, celebrations help us unite. I am excited for this reunion of the industry to be happening as the world gets together again. And I am looking forward to entertaining, meeting fans and connecting with them globally," Bachchan said.

Bachchan's wife, Aishwarya Rai will be a guest on the night along with other stars including veteran actors Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Mithun Chakraborty. They will be joined by Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Tamannaah Bhatia, Nargis Fakhri, Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal, Sanya Malhotra, Urvashi Rautela and film producer Boney Kapoor.

Oscar winner A R Rahman will also attend the event, and so will actors Vicky Kaushal, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Fardeen Khan, Sohail Khan and Suniel Shetty. Director and producer Karan Johar, who was earlier meant to host IIFA Rocks before the event was rescheduled, will attend the awards night on Saturday.

Scroll through the gallery below for all the stars attending the IIFA Awards 2022 in Abu Dhabi.