Mumbai's streets were closed off for a very different kind of public gathering this weekend, while London came to a complete standstill to rejoice and then express regret over the Euros. The three-day wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoons and the son of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, is billed as the most costly wedding in history, with an estimated $600 million spent on the occasion.

The Ambanis' wealth has given the event an unbelievable high star quality worldwide, in addition to their already well-known notoriety in India. Pre-wedding performances were given by celebrities like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry—all of whom are rumored to have received multi-million dollar checks.

The event was frequently referred to as “India’s own royal wedding” by domestic media, with other commentators claiming that the Ambanis want to be seen as “the Windsors of India.”

And the guestlist for the big day was just as astounding, with Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, John Cena, Tony Blair, Boris and Carrie Johnson all in attendance. This Ambani wedding dethrones the last Ambani wedding — between Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani and her husband Anand Piramal in 2018 — as the most expensive wedding of all time, according to estimates. But it’s just another drop in the ocean for the Ambanis, with the $600m price tag only making up 0.5 per cent of their total wealth.

The insane opulence has drawn criticism across the world for showing a “blatant disregard” for poverty in India. But due to Mukesh Ambani’s status as a self-made man, many Indians are welcoming the celebrations, which were marked as a “public event” in the city of Mumbai, shutting down streets and diverting traffic for days.

The wedding saw performances from Nigerian rapper Rema and Indian singer Daler Mehendi, with videos of the sets quickly picking up traction on social media. The Ambani wedding first filtered into Western consciousness when videos emerged of Rihanna performing at the pre-wedding celebrations this March. The singer’s performance marked her first concert in eight years, apart from her appearance at the Super Bowl in 2023. She’s rumoured to have been paid $6m for the appearance.

At the same pre-wedding celebration, the 1,200 guests were also entertained by performances from Diljit Dosanjh, the first Punjabi singer to perform at Coachella, and Akon, as well as a light show made up of 5,500 drones. The guest list included Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Ivanka Trump and Mark Zuckerberg, who were all issued a nine-page dress code to match the “jungle” theme.

As for the outfits this time around: The groom wore a red and gold sherwani designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, while the bride wore a hand-embroidered bridal lehenga by Indian label Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Her outfit featured a 16-foot-long veil, as well as a seven-foot-long detachable train with her skirt.