Diwali Crowds Hold Firm on the Golden Mile as Leicester Reckons with 2022 Divisions

Thousands gathered along Leicester's Golden Mile for Diwali despite the absence of fireworks, stage shows, and the Diwali village, as a safety advisory group scaled back the traditionally large celebration. The city's Holi festival separately drew up to 1,000 participants at the Maher Centre, with organisers claiming it may now be the UK's largest. Meanwhile, researchers and community advocates are examining how Leicester — once celebrated as a model of South Asian multiculturalism — saw the UK's worst Hindu-Muslim riots in 2022, as a new SOAS panel report asks what must change.

🤝 Reckoning with 2022: Research Probes What Fractured Leicester's Multiculturalism

British Future, a research and policy organisation, has published a reflection by Dr Avaes Mohammed, Project Manager of the British South Asian Bridgers Project, examining the aftermath of the 2022 inter-community unrest in Leicester. The piece accompanies the launch of a SOAS panel report titled "Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester." Dr Mohammed draws on his personal connection to the city, recalling Leicester's famous Diwali celebrations — described as the largest outside of India — that once drew the entire city regardless of faith or background. He contrasts this with the relatively more isolated community life he knew in the mill towns of northern England, describing Leicester's culture of "shared belonging" as genuinely inspiring. Leicester was, he notes, the UK's first city where no single ethnic group formed a majority, and should, he argues, have become a global model of multiculturalism given this tradition of cultural exchange. The question of how the UK's largest ever riots between Hindus and Muslims could have erupted there is now the urgent focus of the SOAS inquiry. Dr Mohammed's project speaks with people from South Asian communities across the city about what needs to change to rebuild trust and restore the city's celebrated tradition. [1]

🎉 Diwali on the Golden Mile: Spirit Undimmed Despite Scaled-Back Show

Leicester's Belgrave Road, the Golden Mile, was closed to traffic from 17:00 until around 21:30 on Diwali day as thousands of people gathered for the city's annual celebration — widely regarded as the largest Diwali outside of India. The event went ahead without several of its most popular features: a safety advisory group comprising all emergency services, Leicester City Council, and security firm Showsec determined that the stage show, Diwali village, and fireworks display could not be safely held at the Golden Mile or the nearby Cossington Recreation Ground. The previous year's celebration had drawn an estimated 50,000 visitors according to the council. Despite the reduced programme, friends and families turned out in numbers to enjoy the Golden Mile illuminated by thousands of colourful lights, and local businesses decorated their frontages with lights and flower garlands. Jiten Anand, executive director of Inspirate, an arts and culture organisation based in Leicester, said his organisation had produced a new mural on Belgrave Road and a short film about Diwali. "We've been really trying to keep the spirit of Diwali going," he said, describing the build-up to this year's event as "interesting." [5]

🎉 Holi at the Maher Centre: Thousands Join What May Be the UK's Biggest Celebration

Hundreds of people celebrated the Hindu festival of Holi in Leicester over a weekend of festivities centred at the Maher Centre, with Ashok Karavadra of the Leicester Maher Community Association reporting strong turnout across both days. On Saturday, the Rang Barse event — in which eight different coloured powders were thrown into the air — drew more than 600 participants to the centre. Sunday's celebration saw between 800 and 1,000 people attend, with Karavadra describing the atmosphere as "vibrant." The weekend included performances and a bonfire at the Maher Centre, with events also held at Rushey Fields. Holi, Karavadra explained, commemorates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna, marks the beginning of spring, and celebrates the victory of good over evil. "It is all about the celebration of good over evil," he said. "We wanted to share this message to everyone." The event concluded with a bonfire representing evil burning to ashes and good surviving. Karavadra also pointed to the symbolism of the festival in Leicester's diverse community: "Leicester is quite diverse — the colours were a symbol representative of that diversity." He added that he believed Leicester now hosts the biggest Holi celebration in the country. [8]

Sources: [1] British Future · [5] BBC · [8] BBC