MUMBAI: Preparations for the 15th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards made headway as key delegation including President and CEO, Visit Tampa Bay, Santiago Corrada met their counterparts and cine stars in Mumbai and New Delhi for the gala event to be held in the city next June.

Entertainment stars actors Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sohail Khan and singer Sonu Nigam met the team to discuss the event. Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor will host the event.

The IIFA awards, which have been held in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe, will make its debut in the US which has a 1.5 million strong Indian community next year. The country is the biggest grosser of Hindi cinema after India. Florida bested Barbados, Las Vegas, Chicago and Johannesburg for the event.

Over the years, the event has been attended by the biggest stars- Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan and has witnessed memorable performances from Hrithik Roshan, Madhuri Dixit and Deepika Padukone among others. Among the winners for Music Directors awards AR Rahman leads the tally with seven trophies. Pritam won the award in 2013 for ‘Barfi’.

The list of stars and musicians who will perform at the 15th IIFA has not been confirmed, a representative said.“IIFA was initiated as a pioneering effort to take Indian Cinema, something exclusively typical of India and showcase it to the world,” a statement from the organisers said.