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Riviera is the annual cultural and sports extravaganza of Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore. It is a four-day long event usually held in the first half of February every year. This fest is attended by about 700 colleges from various parts of India. Riviera, unlike other cultural festivals in India, is jointly organized by the Faculties and Students of VIT University.

Ever Since Riviera started (2000), it has gained popularity exponentially and is still growing. The title sponsor of Riviera’s 15th edition was PepsiCo.

History
Riviera ‘09 saw the entire organisation of the fest being entrusted to the students of VIT University themselves. In previous editions, professional event managers oversaw the fest. This year, however, students took up the responsibility of organising the cultural fest, right from securing sponsorships to personally inviting celebrities to handling logistics.

Riviera ‘12 was the year VIT University invited artists like Shreya Ghoshal, Neeraj Shridhar, duo Rahlaap (Rahul Nambiar and Aalap Raju), Natalie Di Luccio, DJ Malena and RJ Suchitra to grace their stage.

Riviera ‘13 boasted of the well known singer, composer and lyricist Sukhwinder Singh, as well as the famous trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. The Riviera stage also saw the German rock band Cherries On A Blacklist and DJ Ryan Beck grace the stage. Students from countries across the world - including Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Israel - flocked to this cultural fest. Riviera ‘13 broke a couple of world records, such as the largest image formation of the human hand and the most number of people wearing paper hats.

Themes
Every year, Riviera takes on a certain theme that recurs throughout the fest. The themes are diverse, and reflect the varied interests of the students. Riviera ‘11 took on the theme of The Idiot Box, and Riviera ‘13 saw the rise of the theme Cultural Fusion .The 15th edition, on the other hand, followed a more traditional theme of Colours of India.

Pre-Riviera Events
Lot of pre riviera events take place like VITMUN, Impact etc.

Proshows
ProShows are the heart and soul of Riviera. Talented artists belonging to renowned film industries have performed on the Riviera platform. Riviera has seen performances by Mohit Chauhan, Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghoshal, Daler Mehndi, Sonu Nigam, Vishal Shekhar, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan and Loy, Devi Shree Prasad, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Aarya, Surya, Sukhwinder Singh and Allu Arjun. Riviera has also staged band performances from prestigious Indian bands like Euphoria, Indian Ocean, and Parikrama.

Aikya -The Cultural Parade
The extensive variety of culture practised by the inhabitants of this planet is undoubtedly concentrated in our country. India is a land of one billion people, speaking over 200 distinctive languages. The Vellore Institute of Technology, being an International University is populated with the same blend of cultural diversity. The natural consequence of such diversity leads to disbalance in society. Having said so, our countrymen, on numerous occasions have proved to be an amazing fellow human being. Keeping in mind, the necessity for unity in diversity, Team Riviera, organizes Aikya, a cultural parade, every year during the cultural festival of VIT. The sight of viewing various groups of people performing their own cultural form of dance is a sight of immense pleasure and satisfaction. The highlights of Aikya have been mainly from the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Orissa.

Social Cause
In its 15th Edition, Riviera organized a Marathon on the opening day of the fest, giving a heads up to the Prime Minister’s initiative of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. In this Marathon, a stretch of about 11 kilometers of Vellore city was cleaned.

Past associations and Sponsors
Riviera has attracted sponsors from across the world, including various established organizations like Pepsi, Aircel, Casio, MXIT, Airtel, The Hindu,Coca-Cola, and software companies like Lenovo, Inox, Apple, IBM, Digit, Acer, DHL, Wipro, Lenovo, Microsoft and Oracle. Other companies like eBay, Red Bull, Toyota, TVS, NDTV, Cognizant, PayTM, Accenture, Indian Bank, Indian Terrain, Bharathi Cement, Gold’s Gym, Hero Honda, Vodafone, BSA, Radio Mirchi, ICICI Bank, Essar, FIAT, AsianPaints and Twenty19.com have helped Riviera succeed.

Artists and Celebrities
Riviera has been privileged with the opportunity of hosting very famous personalities and significant figures across India and different parts of the world. The main sightings have been during the ProShow concerts, which includes Mohit Chauhan, Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghoshal, Daler Mehndi, Sonu Nigam, Vishal Shekhar, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Devi Shree Prasad, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Aarya, Surya, Sukhwinder Singh and Allu Arjun. Riviera has also staged band performances from prestigious Indian bands like Euphoria, Indian Ocean, and Parikrama.

Stage artists and film directors have also been to Riviera as Chief Guests for the Inauguration and Valedictory Ceremonies. Some include Arjun Kapoor, S.J. Suryah and Ashok Kumar, hockey player and son of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand.