The final guests have arrived for a birthday bash dubbed the party of the year after a Japanese billionaire spent more than £300,000 to hire an Italian town.
Kaoru Nakajima has booked the best hotels in Palermo, on the island of Sicily, as well as two theaters for a gala concert and dinner on Sunday for the four-day event.
Excited guests he flew business class from Japan excitedly posed for selfies as they headed to Palermo on connecting flights.
As he posed on the tarmac with friends, guest Naohiko Takagi told MailOnline: ‘We’ve been looking forward to this event for days.
Japanese billionaire Kaoru Nakajima flew more than 1,000 people business class to Italy to join him for his birthday.
Kaoru Nakajima, pictured, has booked the best hotels in Palermo, on the island of Sicily, as well as two theaters for a gala concert and dinner on Sunday for the four-day event.
“Mr Nakajima is a very generous boss and he paid over 1,000 employees to come to Sicily on Sunday to celebrate his 73rd birthday.
“I’ve never been here before and we hope to see a lot of the city and surrounding areas – we’re so excited.”
Others gave thumbs up as they stood near the stairs taking them to the plane and made video calls to friends in Japan.
Mr. Nakajima made his fortune after selling his stake in multi-level marketing company AmWay and then starting his own MLM companies.
AmWay (American Way) sells household and beauty products and convinces customers to become paid distributors of these products.
Mr. Nakajima was one of the company’s best sellers during his time with them and in the 1990s he made AmWay history by doubling the sales of its group of 750,000 distributors.
At one point, it reportedly generated 40% of the company’s business in Japan and 12% of the company’s global revenue.
The father of three praised Palermo’s oldest and most iconic landmarks, including opera houses, theaters and hotels.
The Rocco Forte Villa Igiea and the Grand Hôtel et des Palmes, both on the seafront, are fully booked – with rooms costing between £600 and £3,000 a night for a sea-facing suite.
Among the venues he has directed are the Teatro Massimo, Italy’s largest opera house, and the Politeama Theater.
Both venues will host events on Sunday and the highlight of the event will be a concert by opera star Andrea Bocelli’s son, Matteo.
Mr. Nakajima made his fortune after selling his stake in multi-level marketing company AmWay and then starting his own MLM companies.
On Friday, Mr. Nakahimi, pictured, and his group took a sightseeing tour around Palermo and he stopped for lunch at Osteria Ballaro.
Many arrivals took selfies as soon as they landed in Palermo before heading to the party
Mr Nakajima is said to have chosen Palermo as the venue after being informed by Andrea, who is a friend of his and also a favorite of the British royal family.
Hiring the Politeama would have cost him £32,000 and a similar amount would have been paid for the Teatro Massimo.
Delighted, restaurateurs and other local businesses are rubbing their hands at the thought of seeing hundreds of visitors spending money in a usually dead time of year.
The celebrations began on Thursday with a performance of Don Giovanni where Mr. Nakajima sat in the royal box at the Teatro Massimo.
On Friday, he and his group took a sightseeing tour around Palermo, and he stopped for lunch at Osteria Ballaro.
Mr. Nakajima, accompanied by his assistant Maso Katano and other members of his entourage, wore an Italian football team tracksuit.
Mr Nakajima is said to have chosen Palermo as the venue after being informed by Andrea, who is a friend of his and also a favorite of the British royal family.
On its Facebook page, the Osteria Ballaro restaurant said: “We had the great honor of welcoming Kaoru Nakajima, who chose Palermo for an event that highlights our city.”
On its Facebook page, the restaurant said: “We had the great honor of welcoming Kaoru Nakajima, who chose Palermo for an event that highlights our city.
“He complimented us on our food and service and we treated him to local pastries and cakes from our chef.
“Welcome to him and all his guests – Palermo is a hospitable city.”
So far there has been no sign of his wife, opera singer Atsuko Kakioka, who also loves Italy and has performed in theaters across the country.
