Howdy, Modi!", the community event to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here next month has been sold out with over 50,000 people registering for the programme, the organisers said.
"Howdy", short for 'How do you do?', is a friendly greeting commonly used in southwestern United States.
Over 50,000 supporters have already registered for the mega community summit in September at the NRG Stadium, the host Texas India Forum (TIF), a Houston-based non-profit body, said. The live audience will be the largest ever for an Indian Prime Minister in North America and also the largest for a foreign leader in the US other than Pope Francis.
Potential attendees can still register for the free event. However, new registrants will be on a waiting list. Registration for the university students is open until August 29th as part of a special allotment, they said.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the US next month to attend the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, prior to which he will travel to Houston to meet the leading businesses, political and community leaders here in Houston, the fourth largest city with a population of over 130,000 Indian-Americans.
The summit, with the tagline of 'Shared Dreams, Bright Futures' will highlight the contributions of Indian-Americans to enrich the American life as well as the key role it has played in strengthening relations between the two nations.
"On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Indian-Americans in Texas, and as co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, I welcome Prime Minister Modi to Houston," said US Senator John Cornyn.