Holi and Diwali Paint Manchester's Desi Community in Colour and Light
Greater Manchester's South Asian community has marked two of the most joyful occasions in the Hindu calendar — Holi, the festival of colours that heralds the end of winter, and Diwali, the festival of lights celebrating the Hindu New Year. From free open-air gatherings at Fallowfield's Platt Fields Park to ticketed Bollywood celebrations in Altrincham, and from Cheshire Utsav's family day in Ellesmere Port to the devotional Annakut gathering hosted by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Manchester has demonstrated once again that its Desi community is among the most culturally vibrant in Britain. These festivals draw together families, children, music lovers, and the devout in celebrations that are increasingly embraced well beyond the South Asian diaspora, affirming that Desi culture has become a beloved and integral part of Manchester's civic identity.
🎉 Holi Festival of Colours Brightens Greater Manchester and Cheshire
Greater Manchester and Cheshire welcomed the arrival of Holi — the Hindu festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil and the end of winter — with a rich programme of events spread across north-western England, as reported by the BBC. Holi sees participants offer prayers, eat traditional food and sweets, and gather to throw brightly coloured powders and water over family members and friends, accompanied by dancing, music, and singing. This year's celebrations were spread across multiple venues over ten days following Holi's main date in early March 2026. In Altrincham, the Stonemasons Arms hosted a ticketed Holi Jam from noon to five o'clock featuring vibrant colour throws, Indian street food stalls, a Bollywood jamming session, and a DJ. At Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield, a free community celebration on Sunday afternoon from 1pm to 4pm drew families for music and the exuberant colour-throwing that defines the festival. Further afield in Cheshire, the Cheshire Utsav group staged a family-friendly day at the Whitby Sports and Social Club in Ellesmere Port, combining live dhol drumming, food, and colourful festivities from 11am to 4pm, with children under five admitted free of charge. The spread of Holi events across multiple towns and venues underscores the vitality and geographic reach of Greater Manchester's South Asian community, whose cultural celebrations have become genuine public events warmly welcomed by audiences well beyond the Desi diaspora. [1]
🪔 BAPS Swaminarayan Celebrates Diwali and Hindu New Year in Manchester
The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, one of the world's most prominent Hindu organisations with a well-established presence across the United Kingdom, hosted Diwali and Hindu New Year celebrations in Manchester featuring the beloved Annakut tradition. The Annakut — meaning 'mountain of food' — involves the ceremonial offering of hundreds of elaborately prepared food items to the divine, representing abundance, gratitude, and deep devotion. It is one of the most visually striking and spiritually significant rituals in the Swaminarayan calendar, typically filling temple halls with festive energy and communal warmth. Diwali, universally recognised as the festival of lights, marks the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance — a message that resonates profoundly across Hindu communities worldwide. For the Swaminarayan faithful in Manchester, Diwali and Annakut together constitute the most sacred and joyful season of the religious year. BAPS temples and centres across the UK host elaborate programmes during this period, drawing devotees from across Greater Manchester and surrounding regions for prayers, cultural performances, and communal meals. Manchester's BAPS congregation is part of a global network spanning India, North America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region, giving local celebrations an international resonance and spiritual connection. The event reflects the deep roots that the Swaminarayan tradition has established in Britain over decades of immigration and community-building, and affirms Manchester's standing as one of the United Kingdom's most important centres of South Asian Hindu life and devotion. [2]
Sources: [1] BBC · [2] BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha