The most awaited time of the year for all the YouTube fans arrived on the 30^th March 2019. Over 10,000 fans from all over Mumbai and maybe other parts of the country, came to support their favorite YouTube personalities at the 6^th YouTube Fanfest. Held at the sprawling Reliance Jio Gardens, BKC, 18 very talented youngsters took over the festival stage to showcase their talents.

Much before the start fo the event, fans of these Youtubers stood in serpentine queues in the blazing summer sun, to catch a glimpse of their favorite YouTube star.  The lucky ones got to meet the YouTube creators at an exclusive Meet and Greet. If you weren’t lucky, you could catch a glimpse of the Youtubers at the red carpet as they walked down gracefully and interacted with the audience for a few minutes before the next creator walked by. As soon as the red carpet got over, everyone quickly rushed to the main stage to catch a good place in front of the stage so they could get the perfect view of the entire show. If you didn’t scramble for booking your plot of land in the front, there was much more to do.

There were unique photo booths set up all around to keep the large crowd of mainly teeny boppers entertained before the show began.

Uber Eats was a main sponsor and thus some of the restaurants which are a part of Uber Eats had stalls set up to quench the thirst and hunger of everyone present. From Gelato Italiano to Wok Express, there was variety to satiate every taste bud.

Each YouTube creator or mainly referred to as ‘Youtubers’ are talented and unique in their own way. The 18 Youtubers showcased their talents in the form of dance, singing, and lots more.

This year’s hosts for the YouTube Fanfest were Naser Al Azzeh and Vineeth ′Beep′ Kumar from Jordindian, who entertained the crowd throughout the show. Indian dancing star Melvin Louis started YouTube Fanfest with an amazing dance performance. He had over 20 background dancers along with his partner Sana Khan. The next performance was by International YouTube sensation Amanda Cerny who danced beautifully to a Bollywood number alongside a few backup dancers. The American beauty was specially trained by Melvin. This was Amanda’s first visit to the country. She also said she loves being here and will definitely come back again someday. The other dance performances that took place were by two sisters Team Naach who gave a dazzling performance that was also well synchronised. The MJ5 consisting of 5 dancers, took everyone’s breath away with their stunning dance performance.

The comedy club of the fest included Screenpati and Girliyappa who did a song and dance based on boy- girl relationships. Technical Guruji is known for unboxing things. At the Fanfest he unboxed Mumbai lifestyle vlogger Nikhil and Mo vlogger from the large wooden box. Nikhil stepped out from his comfort zone and did a dance performance, while Mo spoke about cars with Angry Prash.

Looking out for some comedy. There was a lot at the Fanfest. Ashish Chanchlani got the crowd going with his hilarious dialogues, while BeYouNick used one of his side personalities (Titu) to address his fans tickling their funny bone. Nick brought along a special guest Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar during his segment. The duo had a long and funny conversation on ‘Titu Talks'. Bhuvan Bam and Indian hip hop rapper Naezy did a piece together, while Amit Bhandana did a segment on types of fans he has come across. Voice of Ritu Agarwal and by band Sanam captivated the entire crowd with their amazing voices performing original songs from Bollywood.

Prajakta Koli also known as Mostly Sane did a rap song No Offense using Indian instruments. The last performance for the YouTube Fanfest was by TV host and actor Lily Singh who also goes by iiSuperwomanii. She performed her original with Humble the Poet named Drop Splash Banana. She performed other rap songs as well with Humble. Actor Varun Dhawan made a surprise appearance while she was performing one of her rap songs.  As soon as Lily was done, the Jordindians called on all the Youtubers on stage for one last time. They all huddled up for a group selfie with the fans in the background.

Time flew so fast that everyone wanted more of the music and the masti. It was a night to remember, a chance to see your favorite Youtubers in the flesh and to take home memories that will be shared around and on social media... until the next YouTube Fanfest 2020.

By Simone Alvares.