Toronto, Canada is set to become the first North American city to host one of Bollywood’s major awards ceremonies, the International Indian Film Academy Awards, from June 16-19, 2011.

The event, which honors artistic and technical achievement in the Hindi film industry known as Bollywood, takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world. In past years, it has been held in London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and Bangkok. A film festival and industry conference precede the ceremony.

According to the Canadian government, the awards show is expected to attract 60,000 visitors to the city and about 350 million television viewers worldwide. About 500 Bollywood stars and industry insiders are expected to attend. Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan is IIFA’s brand ambassador.

About 300,000 Indians live in Toronto—about 12 percent of the population—making them the largest minority ethnic group in the city.