Belgrave Circle was set alight with festivity last Sunday 12th. With last year's celebration seeing more than 35,000 people filling the city's Golden Mile, a collection of new lighting columns should guarantee at least a few hundred more in 2014. Councillor Piara Singh Clair, Assistant City Mayor and chair of the Diwali working party, said: 'We're incredibly proud to host these hugely-popular celebrations which draw thousands of people to the Golden Mile every year (…) Diwali really shows Leicester at its best, and is a real treat for anyone, especially those who have never experienced the spectacle for themselves.'
Melton Road used every medium available to announce the beginning of the Hindu festival of light; bulbs, dance moves and fire ignited the streets and sky as the event switch was flicked on at 7.30pm by a gathering of dignitaries including City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and president of Leicester Hindu Festival Council Maganbhai Patel. A firework and laser show carried the celebrations forward at 8pm.
'The Leicester Mercury' announced Leicester’s Diwali celebrations 'to be the biggest outside India and' a festival that 'regularly attracts worshippers and visitors from across the globe'.
The Diwali lights will come on at 6pm and go off at 11pm each day, apart from Diwali Day on the 22nd of October when they will remain on until midnight.
