A Formula One (F1) demonstration event featuring British driver Lewis Hamilton was slated to be held at Marine Drive in Mumbai on Sunday, September 16. This event has now been shifted from the iconic venue, to the city’s Bandra-Kurla Complex after objections were raised by south Mumbai residents. Some claimed that they did not want commercialisation of the Marine Drive strip, while others raised the point that the Marine Drive has seen many accidents by speed junkies, and an F1 event there would encourage even more people to speed.

While one is not even going into the merit of these claims or the lack of it, of these arguments, the bottom line is that a set of people from a part of the city had enough of a voice to influence organisers to take the event elsewhere, out of their backyard. Obviously, an event of this magnitude would also entail some change in routine for residents; the road would probably be closed for a few hours, hordes of people would descend on Marine Drive and it would mean a disruption in routine life, for a few hours at least. Yet, the event would have also been a source of pride for Mumbai, with the Queen’s Necklace, an apt setting for it.