A BBC Africa Eye investigation has revealed how women, known as “madams”, have involved children as young as 13 in prostitution in Kenya.

In the transit town of Maai Mahiu, in Kenya’s Rift Valley, trucks and lorries pound the streets day and night transporting goods and people across the country into Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The key transport hub, just 50km (31 miles) east of the capital, Nairobi, is known for prostitution, but it is also a breeding ground for child sexual abuse.

Two undercover investigators, posing as sex workers wanting to learn how to become madams, spent months earlier this year infiltrating the sex trade in the town.

Their secret filming reveals two different women who say they know it is illegal and then introduce the investigators to underage girls in the sex industry.

The BBC gave all its evidence to the Kenyan police in March. The BBC believes the madams have moved location since then. The police said the women and young girls we filmed could not be traced. To date there have been no arrests.

Convictions are rare in Kenya. For successful prosecutions, police need testimonies from children. Often vulnerable minors are too afraid to testify.

The BBC’s grainy footage filmed on the street in the dark showed one woman, who calls herself Nyambura, laughing as she says: “They’re still children, so it’s easy to manipulate them by just handing them sweets.”

“Prostitution is a cash crop in Maai Mahiu; the truckers basically fuel it. And that’s how we benefit. It’s been normalised in Maai Mahiu,” she explained, adding that she had one girl as young as 13, who had already been “working” for six months.

“It becomes very risky when you’re dealing with minors. You can’t just bring them out openly in town. I only sneak them out at night in great secrecy,” Nyambura said.

The act of prostitution by a consenting adult is not explicitly criminalised under Kenyan national law but it is banned by many municipal by-laws. It is not banned in Maai Mahiu, which is part of Nakuru county.

Under the penal code it is illegal to live from the earnings of prostitution, either as a sex worker or third party facilitating or profiting from prostitution.

The trafficking or sale of minors under the age of 18 carries a prison sentence ranging from 10 years to life.

When asked whether the clients wear condoms, Nyambura said she usually made sure they had protection but the odd one did not.

“Some children want to earn more [so don’t use them]. Some are forced [not to use them],” she said.

In another meeting, she led the undercover investigator to a house where three young girls sat huddled on a sofa, another on a hard-backed chair.

Nyambura then left the room, giving the investigator an opportunity to speak to the girls alone.

They described being repeatedly abused for sex, on a daily basis.

“Sometimes you have sex with multiple people. The clients force you to do unimaginable things,” said one of the girls.

There are no recent statistics on the number of children forced to work in Kenya’s sex industry. In 2012, the US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Kenya cited an estimate of 30,000, a figure derived from the Kenyan government and now defunct non-governmental organisation (NGO), Eradicate Child Prostitution in Kenya.

Other studies have focused on specific areas, especially along the country’s coast – known for its tourist resorts. A 2022 report for the NGO Global Fund to End Modern Slavery found almost 2,500 children were forced into sex work in Kilifi and Kwale counties.

A second undercover investigator gained the trust of a woman who called herself Cheptoo and had multiple meetings with her.

She said selling young girls meant she could “earn a living and be comfortable”.

“You carry out this kind of business in great secrecy because it is illegal,” she said.

“If anyone says they want a young girl, I ask them to pay me. We also have our regulars who always come back for them.”

Cheptoo took the undercover investigator to a club to meet four of her girls. The youngest said she was 13 years old. The others said they were 15.

She opened up about the profit she makes from them, saying for every 3,000 Kenyan shillings ($23; £17) the girls deliver, her share was 2,500 shillings ($19; £14).

At another meeting, in a house in Maai Mahiu, Cheptoo left the undercover investigator alone with two underage girls.

One of them told her she had, on average, sex with five men a day.

When asked what happened if she refused to have sex without a condom, she said she had no choice.

“I have to [have sex without a condom]. I will be chased away, and I have nowhere to run to. I am an orphan.”

People outside the UK can watch here

Kenya’s sex industry is a complex, murky world where both men and women are involved in facilitating child prostitution.

It is not known how many children are forced into sex work in Maai Mahiu, but in this small town of around 50,000 people it is easy to find them.

A former sex worker, known as “Baby Girl”, now provides refuge in Maai Mahiu for girls who have escaped sexual abuse.

The 61-year-old worked in the sex industry for 40 years – first finding herself on the streets in her early twenties. She was pregnant and had her three young children with her after fleeing her husband because of domestic violence.

At her wooden kitchen table in a bright parlour at the front of her house, she introduced the BBC to four young women who were all forced into sex work by madams in Maai Mahiu when they were children.

Each girl shared similar stories of broken families or abuse at home – they came to Maai Mahiu to escape, only to be violently abused again.

Michelle described how, at 12 years old, she lost her parents to HIV and was evicted on to the streets where she met a man who gave her somewhere to live and began sexually abusing her.

“I literally had to pay him in kind for educating me. I reached my limit, but I had no-one,” she said.

Two years later, she was approached by a woman who turned out to be a madam in Maai Mahiu and forced her into sex work.

Lilian, who is now 19, also lost her parents at a very young age. She was left with an uncle who filmed her in the shower and sold the images to his friends. The voyeurism soon turned into rape.

“That was my worst day. I was 12 then.”

When she escaped, she was raped again by a truck driver who took her to Maai Mahiu. It was here, like Michelle, where she was approached by a woman who forced her into sex work.

These young women’s short lives have been fuelled by violence, neglect and abuse.

Now, housed by Baby Girl, they are learning new skills – two in a photography studio and two in a beauty salon.

They also assist Baby Girl with her outreach work in the community.

Nakuru county has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Kenya, and Baby Girl, supported by US aid agency USAID, is on a mission to educate people about the risks of unprotected sex.

She has an office at Karagita Community Health Centre, near Lake Naivasha, where she works providing condoms and advice.

However, with US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull USAID funding, her outreach programmes are about to stop.

“From September we will be unemployed,” she told the BBC World Service, adding how worried she was about the young women and girls who depend on her.

“You see how vulnerable these children are. How would they survive on their own? They are still healing.”

The US government did not respond to comments in this investigation about the likely impact of its funding cuts. USAID officially closed last month.

For now, Lilian is focused on learning photography and recovering from abuse.

“I am not afraid any more, because Baby Girl is there for me,” she said. “She is helping us bury the past.”

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The sheet of paper says “Wanted Person” at the top. Below is a photo of a young woman, a headshot that might have been taken in a studio. She looks directly at the camera, smiling with her teeth showing, and her dark, shoulder-length hair is neatly brushed.

At the bottom, in red, are the words: “A reward of one million Hong Kong dollars,” together with a UK phone number.

To earn the money, about £95,000, there is a simple instruction: “Provide information on this wanted person and the related crime or take her to Chinese embassy”.

The woman from the photo is standing in front of me. She shudders when she looks at the building.

We are outside an imposing structure that was once home to the Royal Mint and which China hopes it can develop into a new mega-embassy in London, replacing the far smaller premises it has occupied since 1877.

The new premises, opposite the Tower of London, is already being patrolled by Chinese security guards. The building is ringed with CCTV cameras too.

“I’ve never been this close,” admits Carmen Lau.

Carmen, who is 30, fled Hong Kong in 2021 as pro-democracy activists in the territory were being arrested.

She argues that the UK should not allow China’s “authoritarian regime” to have its new embassy in such a symbolic location. One of her fears is that China, with such a huge embassy, could harass political opponents and could even hold them in the building.

There are also worries, among some dissidents, that its location – very near London’s financial district – could be an espionage risk. Then there is the opposition from residents who say it would pose a security risk to them.

The plans had previously been rejected by the local council, but the decision now lies with the government – and senior ministers have signalled they are in favour if minor adjustments are made to the plan.

The site is sprawling, at 20,000 square metres, and if it goes ahead it would mark the biggest embassy in Europe. But would it also really bring the dangers that its opponents fear?

China bought the old Royal Mint Court for £255m in 2018. The area has layer upon layer of history: across the road is the Tower, parts of it were built by William the Conqueror. For centuries kings and queens lived there.

The plan itself involves a cultural centre and housing for 200 staff, but in the basement, behind security doors, there are also rooms with no identified use on the plans.

“It’s easy for me to imagine what would happen if I was taken to the Chinese embassy,” says Carmen.

In 2022, a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was dragged into the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester and beaten. British police nearby stepped over the boundary to rescue him.

Back in 2019, mass protests had erupted in Hong Kong, triggered by the government’s attempt to bring in a new law allowing for Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to China.

China’s response included a law that forced all elected officials in Hong Kong, including Carmen who was then a district councillor, to take an oath of loyalty to China. Carmen resigned instead.

She claims that journalists for Chinese state-run media started following her. The Ta Kung Pao newspaper, which is controlled by China’s central government in Beijing, ran a front page story alleging she and her colleagues had held parties in their council offices.

“You know the tactics of the regime,” she says. “They were following you, trying to harass you. My friends and my colleagues were being arrested.”

Carmen fled to London but believes that she has continued to be targeted.

Hong Kong issued two arrest warrants for her alleging “incitement to secession and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security”.

The bounty letter sent from Hong Kong to half a dozen of her neighbours followed.

“The regime just [tries] to eliminate any possible activists overseas,” she says.

Steve Tsang, a political scientist and historian who is director of the SOAS China Institute, says he can see why people from Hong Kong, or certain other backgrounds, may be uncomfortable with the new embassy.

He argues “the Chinese government since 1949 does not have a record of kidnapping people and holding them in their embassy compounds.”

But he says some embassy staff would be tasked with monitoring Chinese students and dissidents in the UK and they’d also target UK citizens, such as scientists, business people, and those with influence, to advance China’s interests.

The Chinese embassy told the BBC it “is committed to promoting understanding and the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Building the new embassy would help us better perform such responsibilities”.

There is another fear, held by some opponents, that the Royal Mint Court site could allow China to infiltrate the UK’s financial system by tapping into fibre optic cables carrying sensitive data for firms in the City of London.

The site once housed Barclays Bank’s trading floor, so it was wired directly into the UK’s financial infrastructure. Nearby, a tunnel has, since 1985, carried fibre optic cables under the Thames serving hundreds of City firms.

And in the grounds of the Court, is a five-storey brick building – the Wapping Telephone Exchange that serves the City of London.

According to Prof Periklis Petropoulos, an optoelectronics researcher at Southampton University, direct access to a working telephone exchange could allow people to glean information.

This has all prompted warnings about potential espionage – including from Conservative frontbencher Kevin Hollinrake, as well as senior Republicans in the US.

An official with security experience in former US president Joe Biden’s administration told me it’s perfectly possible that cables could be tapped with devices that would capture passing information – and that this would be almost impossible to detect.

“Anything up to half a mile from the embassy would be vulnerable,” he says.

However, he argues that China may not be inclined to do this because it has other ways of hacking into systems.

Regarding these concerns, the Chinese embassy said: “Anti-China forces are using security risks as an excuse to interfere with the British government’s consideration over this planning application.

“This is a despicable move that is unpopular and will not succeed.”

At the back of the Royal Mint Court is a row of 1980s-built flats. Mark Nygate has lived here for more than 20 years. He gestures across his low garden wall. “Embassy staff will live there and overlook us,” he says.

“We don’t want [the embassy] there because of demonstrations, because of the security risks, because of our privacy.”

Opponents of the embassy – Hong Kongers, Tibetans, Uighurs, and opposition politicians – have already staged protests involving up to 6,000 people.

Mostly, though, he fears an attack on the embassy – that could harm him and his neighbours.

But Tony Travers, a visiting professor in the LSE Department of Government, lives near the current embassy and isn’t convinced that these sorts of protests will materialise for the new neighbours, if the relocation goes ahead.

“I’m not aware of any evidence that there are regular protests that block the road outside the current Chinese embassy… self-evidently, there are much larger protests outside a number of other countries’ embassies and high commissions.”

The Chinese embassy in London says that the proposed development would “greatly improve the surrounding environment and bring benefits to the local community and the district”.

China’s first planning application to develop the site was rejected by Tower Hamlets council in 2022 over safety and security concerns – and fears protests and security measures could damage tourism.

Rather than amend the plan or appeal, China waited, then resubmitted an identical application in August 2024, one month after Labour came to power.

On 23 August, Sir Keir Starmer phoned Chinese President Xi Jinping for their first talks. Afterwards Sir Keir confirmed that Xi had raised the issue of the embassy.

Since then, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has exercised her power to take the matter out of the council’s hands, after being urged to do so by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

This is in the context of an attempt by the government to engage with China after previous Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared in 2022 that the so-called “golden era” of UK-China relations were over.

For his part, Prof Travers believes that politics is involved in planning decisions.

“The Secretary of State has to make the decision on the basis of the documentation in front of them and the law surrounding and affecting the issue,” he argues.

“But it would be naïve to imagine that politics didn’t play a role.”

Lord Peter Ricketts, a former diplomat who chaired the UK’s National Security Council, advising prime ministers on global threats, stresses that the country’s relationship with China is complex.

A National Security Strategy published in June laid out the conflicting priorities in the government’s approach, highlighting its desire to use the relationship to boost the UK economy but also likely “continued tension” over human rights and cyber security.

But is that duality of reaping the business benefits while pushing on the human rights transgressions, even possible?

“It is absolutely an adversary in some areas, which tries to steal our intellectual property, or suborn our citizens,” says Lord Ricketts. “(But) it is a commercial market, a very important one for us, and it’s a player in the big global issues like climate and health.

“We have to be able to treat China in all those categories at the same time.”

The embassy decision, he says, cuts to the heart of this. “There are acute dilemmas, and there are choices to be made, whether to privilege the 30, 40 or 50-year relationship with China, which an embassy, I guess, would symbolise.

“Or whether to give priority to the short-term security threats, which are no doubt real as well.”

The Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith is convinced giving the go-ahead for the new embassy would be a big mistake. “They think that the only way they’ll get growth is by kissing up to China and getting them to invest,” he tells me.

But for all the concerns around security, having one big embassy could well make it easier to keep an eye on what Chinese officials are up to in the UK, according to Prof Tsang.

“Allowing the Chinese to put their staff on one site is preferable,” he argues, “because they’re at the moment all over the place in London, you can’t actually keep an eye on them.”

He is not convinced that rejecting or approving the embassy will have an effect on business and trade.

“The Chinese are the absolute ultimate pragmatists. They are not going to suddenly say that no, we’re not selling our best electric vehicles to you any longer just because you denied us the embassy,” he says.

But, equally, “they are not going to substantially increase Chinese investments in the UK because they have got the new embassy compound.”

If Angela Rayner thinks that too, then her decision may well come down to how seriously she takes the warnings that China could eavesdrop on the UK’s banks.

If she rejects the embassy it may be because she judges the danger it poses to be very real indeed.

More than 60 migrants died when a boat carrying around 150 people sank off the coast of Yemen in bad weather on Sunday.

The vessel capsized off Yemen’s southern province of Abyan, and 68 bodies have been recovered, the Yemen chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told the BBC. He said 12 people had been rescued and dozens were still missing.

Most of the victims are believed to be Ethiopian nationals, said the IOM, which called the incident “heartbreaking”.

Yemen remains a major pathway for migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to the Gulf Arab states in search of work, with the IOM estimating hundreds have died or gone missing in shipwrecks in recent months.

IOM Yemen chief Abdusattor Esoev said the boat was carrying around 157 migrants on a dangerous route in the vast coastal area often used by people smugglers.

Yemen is a popular transit country for many desperate migrants heading north to Saudi Arabia in search of better opportunities.

The bodies of 54 migrants were discovered onshore in the southern district of Khanfar, and 14 others were taken to a hospital morgue in the Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, the Associated Press reported.

The Abyan security directorate released a statement on the large search and rescue mission under way and said many dead bodies had been found across a wide area of shoreline, according to AP.

A spokesperson for the IOM said the agency was “deeply saddened” by the “tragic loss of life”.

“This heartbreaking incident underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection mechanisms for migrants undertaking perilous journeys, often facilitated by unscrupulous smugglers who exploit desperation and vulnerability,” they said.

Mr Esoev also emphasised the importance of strengthening legal safeguards for migrants, to prevent them from being exploited by smugglers.

“What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways in order to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys,” he said.

The IOM previously described the journey from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as “one of the busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes”.

In March, two boats carrying more than 180 migrants sank off the coast of Yemen’s Dhubab district due to rough seas, with only two crew members rescued and all remaining passengers missing and feared dead.

Migrants arriving at Migrant Response Points in Yemen have also reported people-smugglers becoming more reckless by knowingly sending boats into dangerous conditions to avoid patrols, according to an IOM report.

Despite the risks, many migrants continue to make the trip, with more than 60,000 arriving in Yemen in 2024 alone.

In the last decade, the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project recorded more than 3,400 deaths and missing people along the route – 1,400 of those deaths were due to drowning.

Western leaders have condemned videos of emaciated Israeli hostages filmed by their captors in Gaza, with the Red Cross calling for access to all remaining in captivity.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said “images of hostages being paraded for propaganda are sickening” and they must be released “unconditionally”.

The calls come after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad published video of Rom Braslavski, thin and crying, on Thursday, and Hamas released footage of an emaciated Evyatar David on Saturday.

Israeli leaders accused Hamas of starving hostages.

Hamas’s armed wing denied it intentionally starves prisoners, saying hostages eat what their fighters and people eat amid a hunger crisis in Gaza.

Reports from Gaza say Palestinians desperately seeking aid near distribution points came under fire from Israeli troops at two different locations on Sunday. At least 27 Palestinians were killed, hospitals in Gaza say.

The Israeli hostages Braslavski, 21, and David, 24, were abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

They are among 49 hostages, out of 251 originally taken, who Israel says are still being held in Gaza. This includes 27 hostages who are believed to be dead.

After the videos were released, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the two hostage families, expressing “profound shock” and telling them that efforts to return all the hostages “will continue constantly and relentlessly”.

On Sunday, Netanyahu spoke to the head of the Red Cross in the region, requesting his immediate involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was “appalled” by the videos that gave “stark evidence of the life-threatening conditions in which the hostages are being held”.

The charity reiterated its call to be granted access to the hostages to assess their condition, give them medical support and facilitate contact with their families.

Hamas’s armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades said it would respond positively to any Red Cross request to deliver food and medicine to prisoners if humanitarian corridors were opened into Gaza on a regular and permanent basis, and air strikes halted during the time of receiving aid.

The Red Cross has faced heavy criticism in Israel over its role in the war, with claims that it has failed to help the hostages being held in Gaza.

Earlier this year, amid anger over chaotic scenes as hostages were freed as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas, the organisation explained the limits of its role, saying it relies on the warring parties’ goodwill to operate in conflict zones.

There has also been criticism from Palestinians, as the group has not been allowed to visit Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails since 7 October 2023.

At the weekend in Tel Aviv, crowds of protesters and hostage families gathered once again, calling on the Israeli government to secure the release of hostages.

David and Braslavski’s families said at a rally on Saturday that “everyone must get out of hell, now.”

In one video, Braslavski is seen crying as he says he has run out of food and water and only ate three “crumbs of falafels” that day. He says he is unable to stand or walk, and “is at death’s door”.

Braslavski’s family in a statement said “they managed to break Rom” and pleaded to Israeli and US leaders to bring their son home.

“He has simply been forgotten there,” they said.

In the second video, David said “I haven’t eaten for days… I barely got drinking water” and is seen digging what he says will be his own grave.

His family said he was being “deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alive”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was “appalled” by the images, adding the release of all hostages was a mandatory prerequisite for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who said Hamas embodies “abject cruelty”, added France continues to work tirelessly towards the release of hostages, to restore a ceasefire, and to enable humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

He said this effort must be accompanied with a political solution, with a two-state solution “with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace”. France recently announced its intention to recognise a Palestinian state, along with Canada and the UK, under certain conditions. Israel has strongly condemned the moves.

The images of emaciated hostages are coming out as UN-backed agencies have said the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza, with malnutrition deaths reported daily.

The Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday that 175 people, including 93 children, have died of malnutrition since the start of the war.

The UN, aid agencies and some of Israel’s allies blame the hunger crisis on Israeli restrictions on the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid. Israel denies the allegation and blames Hamas.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, Israeli authorities, and part of the country’s press, strongly reject that there is starvation in Gaza, and say the crisis is a lie fabricated by Hamas and spread by international media.

Some pictures of emaciated children have been displayed by Israeli protesters calling for a deal with Hamas, but many in Israel seem unaware of the extent of the emergency there.

As the war continues, Israel faces growing international isolation, as the widespread destruction in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians spark outrage.

Polls around the world suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative about Israel, which is putting pressure on leaders to act.

A Singapore-based billionaire hotelier has pleaded guilty to one charge connected to a rare corruption scandal that shocked the country last year.

Ong Beng Seng is accused of giving expensive gifts, including tickets to the Formula 1 Grand Prix and a ride on a private jet to ex-transportation minister Subramaniam Iswaran while they were engaged in official business.

Mr Ong pleaded guilty on Monday to abetting the obstruction of justice by helping Iswaran pay the Singapore Grand Prix for a business class ticket from Doha to Singapore.

Ministers in Singapore cannot keep gifts unless they pay the market value of the gift to the government, and they must declare anything they receive from those they have business dealings with.

Mr Ong helped bring the F1 Grand Prix to Singapore and his company Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) has brands like the Four Seasons and Marriott operating under it.

Mr Ong is also accused of abetting Iswaran in obtaining an all expenses paid trip to Doha, said to be worth around S$20,850 ($16,188; £12,194).

The two men were arrested in July 2023 and charge sheets revealed that Iswaran was gifted more than S$403,000 ($311,882; £234,586) worth of flights, hotel stays, musicals and grand prix tickets.

Singapore’s lawmakers are among the highest-paid in the world, with some ministers earning more than S$1 million ($758,000). Leaders justify the handsome salaries by saying it combats corruption.

At the time of the offences Iswaran was in the government’s F1 steering committee and the chief negotiator on F1-related business matters.

Mr Ong faces up to two years in jail for abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts, while the maximum jail term he faces for the abetment of obstruction of justice is seven years.

Born in Malaysia in 1946, Mr Ong moved to Singapore as a child and founded a hotel and property company in the 1980s.

Mr Ong has a rare bone marrow cancer, and the court previously allowed him to travel abroad for medical and work purposes.

Hotel Properties Limited had earlier in April said that Ong would step down as its managing director “manage his medical conditions”.

A woman in New Zealand has been arrested after a two-year-old girl was found in her luggage while she was travelling on a bus.

Police said officers were called to a bus stop in Kaiwaka, a small town in the north of the country, on Sunday after a passenger asked for access to the luggage compartment.

“The driver became concerned when he noticed the bag moving. When the driver opened the suitcase, they discovered the two-year-old girl,” New Zealand Police said a statement.

The woman, 27, has been arrested and charged with ill-treatment/neglect of a child.

“The little girl was reported to be very hot, but otherwise appeared physically unharmed,” police said.

She has been taken to hospital, where she is undergoing medical assessment, they added.

The relationship between the woman and the child has not been disclosed.

The woman is due to appear in the North Shore District Court on Monday.

“We would like to acknowledge and commend the bus driver, who noticed something wasn’t right and took immediate action, preventing what could have been a far worse outcome,” police said.

What comes to mind when you think of a big fat Indian wedding?

Dazzling lights, glittering outfits, Bollywood hits, a lavish spread of food and an atmosphere soaked in celebration. Everything feels extravagant, emotional and larger than life.

Now imagine all of that without the bride and groom. No pheras (a Hindu marriage ritual where the couple takes seven rounds around a sacred fire), no relatives, no tearful farewells. Just the party.

Welcome to the world of fake weddings – a rising trend in Indian cities where people gather to enjoy the wedding party, minus the actual marriage.

These ticketed events, organised by hotels, clubs and companies, are designed purely for fun and promise to offer the full experience of a wedding party without any stress, rituals or responsibilities. Simply put, it’s a wedding-themed party night.

Over the past few weeks, fake weddings have been making a splash in big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The attendees are usually young people looking to enjoy a night out with friends, indulging in the drama and fun of a traditional Indian wedding without the attendant pressures.

Last week, we attended one such curated event in Delhi – a fake sangeet(a sangeet is a night of music and dance usually held a few days before the wedding).

At the event, held at a plush club, the vibe was electric: women twirled in sequinned saris and lehengas (long skirts and blouses), men showed up in tailored kurtas and ethnic jackets. A traditional dhol drummer led the crowd to the dance floor and tequila-filled gol gappas (a popular Indian street snack) made the rounds.

Shivangi Sareen, who attended an event like this for the first time, found it “amazing”.

“At family weddings, there’s so much pressure – the rules around dressing up, the judgement [from relatives]. But here, it’s just fun,” she said. “Especially because we got to do it all with our friends. We decided our outfits the day before and got ready together.”

Ticket prices typically start at around 1,500 rupees ($17; £13) and can go up to 15,000 rupees or more, depending on the venue and facilities. Shivangi and her friends paid 10,000 rupees per couple to attend.

“I wouldn’t mind spending this once a month. The whole experience was totally worth it.”

Sharad Madan, owner of a restaurant which hosted the event, says the trend underscores that novelty is key in the hospitality sector.

“We have to keep doing something new for our patrons,” he said.

It cost them around a million rupees to plan and organise the event, Mr Madan says, and the team expected to make double that through ticket sales. But it’s not just about profits, he says.

“It’s about engagement. Even if it doesn’t give me the same kind of returns, I would still do it because our patrons want something different.”

Kaushal Chanani, co-founder of 8Club events which hosted a fake wedding party attended by 2,000 people in Bengaluru last month, says that the inspiration for fake weddings came from young Indians living abroad.

“People from the diaspora would gather and dance to Bollywood music, dress in ethnic [traditional] clothes and enjoy the evening,” he said. “This is the idea we followed as well.”

The response to the Bengaluru event, held at a five-star hotel, was “overwhelming”, he says. It encouraged them to plan a similar event in Delhi – which was sold out – and they started getting queries from event organisers in other cities such as Jaipur, Kolkata and Lucknow.

“We now give out our standard operating procedure (SOP) to people who are interested,” he says. “It is a guide on how to create the experience, market it and make it profitable.”

However, not all fake weddings follow the same script.

Third Place, an experience-based start-up, recently hosted a sober in Bengaluru – no alcohol, just a themed celebration.

“We divided attendees into groom and bride’s teams and organised games like charades and guessing who the relative is from a stereotype,” said CEO Anurag Pandey.

There were dhol drums, a grand welcome for all guests and even astrology-themed games. Alcohol was deliberately left out.

“Sometimes booze takes away from the experience,” Mr Pandey said. “We wanted to do more than just a pub night or a regular takeover. We wanted to showcase the spirit of Indian weddings.”

Commentators say the popularity of these events reflects young people’s growing desire to find reasons to celebrate.

“People need a hook of some kind… an occasion to celebrate. And there’s no better setting than a wedding, which brings together all the elements of fun,” says writer and social commentator Santosh Desai.

“It’s the pinnacle of enjoyment – especially when it’s free from the stress that accompanies real weddings.”

He also points out that these events give people a reason to re-wear expensive wedding outfits bought in the past.

So, are such events here to stay?

Event planner Vijay Arora, founder of Delhi-based Touchwood Events, believes fake weddings are currently a fad – but one with potential.

“Gen Z definitely wants to be part of such celebrations,” he said.

“If it emerges as a new market category then it can be a major game changer since the scale will increase – which eventually amps up business opportunities for the entire industry.”

India’s wedding industry is estimated to be worth around $130bn, according to investment advisory firm Wright Research.

While the sector is booming, there are constraints. Most weddings take place during the cooler months – typically between November and March – and often at auspicious times, while the monsoon season (June to August) is considered off-season.

With venues free, vendors available and people constantly chasing experiences, fake weddings could step in to fill the gap if the trend holds.

Mr Arora says he was surprised by the rise of fake weddings.

“But it also helps in understanding that such events are something that we want to celebrate or be a part of. Even if we can’t attend the real events our friends or family host, we still want to experience them by joining these fake ones.”

However, not every guest walks away thrilled.

Srishti Sharma, a 23-year-old Bengaluru-based marketing professional, said she was underwhelmed by the only fake wedding she attended.

“I’ve lived away from home for a few years now and I really missed attending a wedding,” she said.

“The biggest plus was not having nagging relatives telling you ‘you’re next in line to get married’.”

Ms Sharma and her friends spent hours picking outfits, but the event fell short.

“They began with EDM and switched to Bollywood only after two hours,” she said.

“We expected wedding food but got pizza and fries – no dessert, just alcohol. The decor was basic and felt lazy.”

Some have criticised the events, saying they could come across as trivialising traditional Indian events and values.

But Vidhi Kapoor, who attended the fake sangeet in Delhi, disagrees.

“It might have been offensive had people been asked to dress up like a bride or groom but here it’s just a party, we should take it in high spirits,” she said.