India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in the UK for a three-day visit aimed at boosting trade and ties between the two countries.
It marks the first time an Indian prime minister has travelled to Britain in almost a decade and David Cameron has prepared an extravagant welcome for the leader.
Modi will be given a guard of honour, a privilege normally only afforded to heads of state, and welcomed to Downing Street with a Red Arrows fly-past, according to the BBC.
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The London Eye will be lit up with the colours of the Indian flag and Modi's visit will culminate with a celebration at Wembley Stadium tomorrow and what is billed as the largest firework display in the UK.
Although it is not an official state visit, it is "the largest and arguably the most spectacular welcome any foreign leader has ever received in Britain," says The Guardian.
What's on the agenda?
Modi's packed schedule includes a speech in parliament, lunch with the Queen, meetings with Indian business leaders and an overnight visit to Chequers. The aim is to increase trade and investment in the defence, security and energy sectors as well as combating terrorism.
"My message to the business community is clear – come, make use of the opportunities India is offering and invest in India," Modi said ahead of his visit. Up to £10bn worth of trade deals are expected to be signed this week, the Daily Telegraph reports.
But it's not all business. Modi will speak on stage after a concert at Wembley Stadium tomorrow, expected to be attended by 60,000 British Indians. The event is said to involve more than 800 performers including the Indian star Kanika Kapoor and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
What has the reaction been?
"The visit is about ticking the Indian prime minister's vanity," say Dr Rudra Chaudhuri, senior lecturer in South Asian Security and Strategic Studies at King's College London. "Something that insiders in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office appear to understand all too well."
Others point out that there is a growing diplomatic imbalance in India's relationship with the UK. "[It] must be clear to even the most casual observer," says The Guardian's Jason Burke.
"Cameron has visited India three times since becoming prime minister in 2010, bringing with him small armies of ministers every time. This is the first visit by an Indian PM to the UK since 2006."
Human rights groups, meanwhile, plan to hold a demonstration against Modi's arrival in London later today. Muslim, Sikh and Christian groups will protest against a lack of secular and religious freedom while writers and artists demand the protection of freedom of expression in India.
The campaign group Awaaz is urging people to boycott the event at Wembley. "His fanatic followers treat him like a god rather than what he is – an authoritarian politician who remains silent about the grotesque fundamentalist violence that brought him to power and made him who he is," they say.
