Ken's grand tour of India

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It includes not only Lord Coe, TfL chief Peter Hendy and Met Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, but pop star Myleene Klass, film director Danny Boyle, and Chelsea FC chief executive Peter Kenyon.

Former Hear'Say singer Klass will present a showcase in Mumbai featuring a set from West End musical Stomp and a reading by performance poet Kat Francois.

The visit starts on Sunday, when Mr Livingstone visits the Raj Ghat memorial in Delhi, which honours Mahatma Gandhi. He will also see Mumbai and the Golden Temple of Amritsar, Sikhism's holiest site.

The purpose of the trip is to tap into India's booming economy - encouraging more firms to locate in London - and strengthen cultural and environmental links. Mayoral offices will be opened in Mumbai and New Delhi. The Tories claim the trip will cost Londoners £750,000.

The Mayor will also sign a partnership deal with Delhi's chief minister, speak alongside Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and visit a Mumbai poverty reduction project.

2012 Olympics chairman Lord Coe will meet his opposite number for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. Transport Commissioner Mr Hendy will see the Delhi metro and Mumbai's congested streets. He will also visit a charity helping "railway children" who endure desperate conditions living around stations.

Also on tour will be Mr Kenyon and former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux. The football club wants to increase its profile in Asia.

Other "ambassadors" include Mr Ghauffur - Britain's most senior Asian police officer - Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma, London Eye managing director David Sharpe, and representatives from business, the BBC and universities.

Mr Livingstone said almost all the 85 going were "paying their own way", adding: "We'll get thousands and thousands of jobs for London out of this."

There are about 10,000 Indian-owned businesses in London and 230,000 Indian tourists visited last year. The capital's Indian community is 300,000-strong.

Ms Klass's agent Jonathan Shalit said she was "giving her time for free", though her flights and accommodation would be paid for by the Mayor.