IIFA 2027 is headed back to Abu Dhabi, with the 27th IIFA Weekend and Awards set for January 22 and 23, 2027, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island. It will be the fourth time the city hosts the awards.
The line-up, hosts and partnerships were unveiled at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, October 22, 2026. Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Janhvi Kapoor and Nora Fatehi are among the performers announced for the weekend.
The Mumbai event served as the formal launch. Organisers used it to confirm the venue, the dates, the performance roster and the hosting teams for both the main ceremony and the digital awards.
The press conference brought the weekend’s key names together in one room. Thursday’s event was the first time the full scope of the Abu Dhabi edition, from performers to ticketing, had been laid out in public. The announcements set the tone for the months of build-up ahead.
Thursday’s announcements covered the three pillars of IIFA 2027: who performs, who hosts, and who the organisers are partnering with. The line-up reveal was the centrepiece, with six performer names confirmed for the Abu Dhabi stage.
IIFA 2027 performers and hosts
The performer list mixes long-time IIFA fixtures with newer names. Salman Khan leads the bill, joined by Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shahid Kapoor, while Rashmika Mandanna, Janhvi Kapoor and Nora Fatehi round out the announced acts.
For Rashmika Mandanna, the night will be a first. “Performing on the IIFA Awards stage for the first time feels incredibly special, and I’m honestly so excited!” she said at the Mumbai press conference.
Mandanna’s debut gives IIFA 2027 a first-timer on the performance roster. She told the press conference the moment felt special and said she was excited to take the stage.
Mandanna’s excitement was plain at the Mumbai event. A first IIFA performance is a milestone booking for any actor, and she made no secret of how much the invitation meant.
Her debut was one of the headline announcements of the Mumbai press conference.
On the hosting front, the main ceremony goes to Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan, Maniesh Paul and Ananya Panday. The digital awards get their own team in Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Abhishek Banerjee.
The IIFA 2027 split between the main ceremony and the digital awards gives the weekend two hosting teams. Johar, Dhawan, Paul and Panday take the flagship night; Tripathi, Fazal and Banerjee handle the digital edition.
Abu Dhabi’s fourth turn as host for IIFA 2027 comes in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and Miral.
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and Miral are the organising partners for the weekend. Abu Dhabi has hosted the awards three times before, and the 2027 edition makes it four.
IIFA 2027 tickets and venue details
Tickets start at Dh100 and will be available through Etihad Arena and Platinumlist.
Etihad Arena on Yas Island will host the weekend for the fourth time. IIFA 2027 is scheduled for January 22 and 23, 2027.
The January timing gives fans a fixed point to plan around. With tickets from Dh100, the Etihad Arena show is a two-night event spanning the awards and the digital ceremony.
Salman Khan on photographers and boundaries
At the press conference, Salman Khan returned to an issue he has raised before. He reiterated his call for photographers to respect celebrities’ personal boundaries, a point he had earlier made on Bigg Boss 20.
Khan did not soften the message for the IIFA stage. With the industry’s biggest names set to gather in Abu Dhabi, he used the presser to repeat that personal space off camera deserves the same respect as the performances on it.
Khan had raised the same point earlier on Bigg Boss 20. Bringing it to the IIFA 2027 press conference put the issue in front of the industry press ahead of the Abu Dhabi weekend.