The Times Square in United States’ New York City will on August 5 advertise images of Hindu deity Ram and 3-D portraits of the temple to be constructed in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, PTI reported on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will set a silver brick into the ground as a symbolic gesture of ground-breaking on the day for the construction of a grand temple.

The organisers in US described the next week’s ceremony as one-of-a-kind and historic event. President of the American India Public Affairs Committee Jagdish Sewhani told PTI that arrangements are underway to celebrate the ground-breaking ceremony. A giant NASDAQ (American stock exchange) billboard along with a 17,000-square-foot wrap-around LED display screen are being leased for the occasion, Sewhani said. These are said to be the largest continuous exterior displays in the world and the highest-resolution exterior LED screen in Times Square.

The images of the ceremony from India, the words “Jai Shri Ram” in Hindi and English, portraits of the deity and the proposed temple’s design and architecture will be displayed from 8 am to 10 pm across several billboards on August 5.

Sewhani said that members of the Indian community will also gather at Times Square to distribute sweets and mark the occasion. “This is not a once-in-a-lifetime or a once-in-a-century event,” he added. “This is an event that comes once in the life of mankind. We had to give it a befitting celebration and what better place than the iconic Times Square to commemorate.”

He added that the Times Square commemoration was being done with the help and support of the Indian community and sponsors. “Under Prime Minister Modi, the construction of the Ram Temple is a dream come true for Hindus all over the world,” Sewhani said. “Till six years back, we never thought that this day will come soon but due to Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, this day has come and we want to celebrate it in a befitting way.”

Huge preparations have been made for the ceremony in Ayodhya. Dozens of giant LED screens will be installed so the devotees can watch the programme, the temple trust said. Reports said graffiti paintings depicting the life of the Lord Ram have been put up along the road to the temple.

In a landmark verdict in November, the Supreme Court had ruled that the disputed land in Ayodhya would be handed over to a government-run trust for the construction of a Ram temple. The court said that the demolition of Babri Masjid was illegal and directed the government to acquire an alternative plot of land to build a mosque.