Hours before Prime Minister Modi’s speech, the area in front of the Coliseum began filling up with people carrying large and small Indian and US flags, many wearing “Modi & Us” T-shirts.

They came from 40 states, some of the 60 chartered buses from New York, New Jersey, Washington and Boston, and others in their vehicles or public transportation. Among the crowd were men wearing Muslim headgear and women with head coverings and Sikhs with turbans, reflecting the diversity of India. As they waited in long lines four hours before the speech to go through security, artists on a stage outside kept them entertained in the crisp 20-degree Celsius weather.

A woman in the line said, “We are just so proud of Modi ji, and we’re proud to be part of this great celebration. Modi ji, we love you, and we want you to be very successful in whatever you’re doing for our country.”

Periodic bursts of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Modi Modi” echoed around the arena and inside, and enthusiasts paraded waving huge Indian flags.

“With PM Modi at the helm, the meeting will celebrate the Indian diaspora’s achievements and reflect the people-to-people links between the US and India bringing the two nations closer,” Avinash Gupta, the President of the tri-state chapter of the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) told IANS.

Over 25,000 people had asked to attend the event, but their number had to be winnowed down to fit the arena’s capacity of about 16,000, Gupta said. Hundreds who could not get tickets stood outside to watch a simulcast on giant screens.

Before Prime Minister Modi took the stage, there was a rich cultural programme with dances and music from across India, classical and popular, some a fusion of the two.

Chandrika Tandon, the entrepreneur and Grammy nominee, led a choir melding “America, the Beautiful” and “Vande Mataram” -- a tribute to the two nations. The diaspora event came in the middle of a three-day whirlwind visit to the US, sandwiched between the Quad Summit convened by US President Joe Biden in Delaware with Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Fumio Kishida of Japan and Prime Minister Modi’s address to the United Nations Summit of the Future.