Leicester Diwali lights to shine on amid fund crunch

Leicester East Conservative candidate Shivani Raja and former Leicester East MP Keith Vaz started a petition to prevent the Diwali events from being switched off this year.

• Kamal Rao
• 06 June, 2024

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By: Kamal Rao

LEICESTER City Council has confirmed that the annual Diwali lights, a prominent highlight in the city’s festival calendar, will continue this year.

There were concerns about the future of the much-anticipated celebrations due to budget constraints. Leicester East Conservative candidate Shivani Raja and former Leicester East MP Keith Vaz started a petition to prevent the Diwali events from being switched off this year.

Leicester City Council’s media and PR manager Debra Reynolds told Eastern Eye, “Leicester City Council will not be cancelling the Diwali lights programme.

“We have concerns about the cost of the two programmes, the total costs of which are around £250,000. But we hope to get private sponsorship for it. Discussions are still going on, and no decision has been taken so far.”

A spokesman for the city council said, “We recently met members of the Leicester Hindu Festival Council and local ward councillors to advise them that the council is reviewing funding for all festivals and events due to financial pressures on the council. In September last year, the council announced that it could no longer afford to fund two events for Diwali, so the council is now review – ing whether we can support one event, which would cost £130,000, in the absence of significant fun – ding elsewhere.”

“It’s important to emphasise that no decisions have yet been made, but we wanted to be open with our partners while there’s still time to explore possible sources of alternative funding. We are very proud of the city’s Diwali celebrations and want them to continue, so we hope that potential sponsors or funders will now come forward to help ensure that a Leicester tradition can continue for years to come,” they added.

Vaz, the former MP for Leicester East, said in a petition about the Diwali lights switch-on festival that “we, the undersigned, are very concerned about the future of the Diwali lights switching ceremony in Leicester. For the past four decades, Diwali lights have been switched on in Leicester, and 40,000 people from across the country take part in the festivities on Leicester’s Golden Mile. Leicester’s festivals are one of the biggest highlights of the calendar.”

He added, “Labour city mayor Peter Soulsby has decided to cut funding for this festival. This will mean that there will be no switch on ceremony until the money is received from the local shopkeepers. This is a disaster. We must preserve this historic ceremony, and we need to ensure that the council reverses its decision and restores funding immediately.”

As Eastern Eye went to print on Tuesday (4), a total of 2,735 people had signed the petition.

The parliamentary candidate for Leicester East, Shivani Raja, also started a petition on Change.org to save Leicester’s Diwali celebrations, which 1,051 people signed.

On behalf of the Belgrave Business Association, Nisha Popat said, “Diwali is a major event in our city that brings people of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate our vibrant spirit. It strengthens community bonds, boosts investment, and promotes tourism. It is a cornerstone of the Golden Mile and a key part of Leicester’s heritage.

“We understand the financial constraints that the Council faces, but we believe that the notice given for this year’s Diwali celebrations is inadequate. We are com – mitted to arguing our case for Diwali and ensuring that future celebrations grow and develop further, making Leicester the host of the largest Diwali celebrations outside India. We are excited about the potential for growth and improvement of Diwali in Leicester, and we hope that the Council will support us in our efforts.”

Leicester’s Diwali festival programmes are said to be the largest outside India and have been held for the past four decades.