New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) After a busy day at the opening day of the Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a gala dinner for various world leaders at the Bharat Mandapam here to the accompaniment of a performance by an ensemble of over 100 artistes drawn largely from India as well as other member countries of BRICS.
India is hosting the BRICS Summit at the sprawling venue in central Delhi on September 12-13, which will be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other heads of state, among other top dignitaries.
The Global South must become a “rule shaper” and the existing “pyramid of privilege” structure in global governance must give way to a “platform of partnership”, Prime Minister Modi said in his address at the BRICS summit as trade friction and geopolitical instability trigger growing economic headwinds.
The prime minister also unveiled a 10-point roadmap for global governance reform under the BRICS framework while advocating for a ‘Seafarers’ Emergency Support Network’ to safeguard sailors facing heightened risks from ongoing global and regional crises.
A New Delhi Declaration was adopted at the end of the meeting on day one of the Summit.
On Saturday evening, Modi and various other world leaders also visited the Bharat Innovates Exhibition zone hosted at the Bharat Mandapam complex and then also planted trees on the lawns of the mega convention centre.
“A large group of artistes — classical dancers and musicians, largely from India — as well as musicians from various other member countries of BRICS, will showcase ‘BRICS Symphony’ during the gala dinner that the prime minister will host for the invited leaders on September 12, the day the Summit opens, at the Bharat Mandapam,” a person familiar with the matter told PTI earlier.
The size of the ensemble would be about 160, with Indian dancers and musicians forming the core of the performance troupe, they said.
Indian dancers will perform classical dances such as Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak representing different regions of India, while musicians will play traditional instruments of the country, complemented by musicians from some of the other member countries of the grouping, according to the plan, one of the persons cited above said.
The show’s duration would be about 20-25 minutes and there will be intermittent vocal renditions, the person added.
The Indian team members of the ensemble have been rehearsing for the performance for the past two days. The planned show is being helmed by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the cultural arm of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), they added.
India is a founding member of the BRICS and has previously held its chairship three times — in 2012, 2016 and 2021.
The country assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on January 1, and has since then hosted a large number of meetings under various thematic tracks such as finance, environment, diplomacy, law, culture and tourism.
India hosted the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on May 14-15, chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Under the theme ‘Samanvay’, the ICCR had welcomed guests at the BRICS cultural performance and gala dinner hosted by Jaishankar on May 14 at the Bharat Mandapam.
The evening resonated with the melodies of India’s devotional traditions, the grace of Bharatanatyam, and the vibrant energy of folk dances from across India.
BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.
It emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
The year 2026 also marks a milestone as BRICS completes 20 years since its establishment.
In a media statement, the MEA said India’s BRICS chairship is guided by the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, reflecting Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of ‘Humanity First’. PTI KND MNK MNK MNK
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