The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, joined thousands of Muslims on Saturday, celebrating `Eid Al-Fitr in the Trafalgar Square, in the first religious festival of its kind in the iconic square since 2019.
“It’s fantastic, you can feel the vibe, feel the atmosphere,” Khan said, The Independent reported.
“This is one of the most famous squares in the world. I’m a firm believer that our diversity is a strength not a weakness.
“We should celebrate our diversity. It’s wonderful to see Muslims and non-Muslims coming together to celebrate this most important festival for the religion of Islam in this fantastic square in London.”
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What a brilliant way to mark the end of Ramadan ☪️
It was great to see thousands of Londoners celebrating Eid in the Square with their families, friends and food! #EidMubarak to you all! pic.twitter.com/md3GK4UsGM
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) May 7, 2022
Gathering for the 17th `Eid in the Square, Muslims celebrated the return of major festivals to London under the theme #LetsDoLondon.
The Main Stage was hosted by award winning actor, filmmaker and BBC Asian Network presenter Mistah Islah alongside former teacher and trailblazing broadcaster Mehreen Baig.
There were also activities to entertain the children, including face painting and sword fights.
Special Food
Long queues gathered in front of the festival’s many food stalls, including Indian street food from Mr Bombay, silk road delights from Oshpaz Uzbek Street Food, Venezualan fayre from Pebellon and Somali treats from Hooyo East.
Yet, Grammy award-winning producer Naughty Boy proved a big hit as even London Mayor Sadiq Khan waited for his pie.
“I’m looking forward to eating Naughty Boys‘ keema shepherd’s pie”, he told the PA news agency.
After two years of restrictions, this year’s celebration is considered to be iconic to many Muslims.
“It’s very nice, it’s nice to have a community vibe,” Akram, 25, from west London said. “I’m going to walk around and see the stalls and performers.”
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Mohammed, 24, from Romford, east London, added he was surprised at how many people had turned up.
“I didn’t expect it to be so big,” he said. “I came a couple of years ago and it wasn’t that busy. It’s good to celebrate and have food with everyone.”
The event comes as Muslims worldwide celebrated `Eid Al-Fitr which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
The three-day `Eid Al-Fitr festival is one of the two main religious celebrations in Islam, together with `Eid Al-Adha.