Eid celebration in Trafalgar Square

For the second time, the Mayor of London gave over Trafalgar Square for a world-class Eid festival. On Saturday there were about thirty thousand people gathered together to celebrate Eid, the end of the Muslim month of Ramadhan. It was a great crowd, pleasurably diverse in both ethnicity and age. The square was packed to capacity, and it was almost impossible to move.

I spoke to Ken Livingstone, the current Mayor, before going up on stage to kick off the event. He said it was a positive move that we wanted to promote the square as a place of celebration for people, not just a place of protest. Whatever you may think of Ken, it was a sentiment that reflects on how people should reclaim the city and be proud of celebrating its heritage and connections. The square also hosts a number of other cultural events including Diwali.

It was a joyous event, lots of singing, poetry and good humour - a lot of people simply having a good time together. And from a personal point of view, standing on stage presenting a show at Trafalgar Square, this was an event that will not be forgotten. It was thrilling to be on the world stage and leading a lively, good humoured crowd that were there to have fun and share the moment with each other. Wow! Definitely a moment to recount at dinner parties for months to come...