Diwali lights switch-on event cancelled over costs

Thousands of people attended the 2023 Diwali Lights Switch on the Golden Mile

Leicester's traditional Diwali lights switch-on event will not take place this year because of the rising cost of staging it.

The city normally celebrates the Festival of Light with two events - a switch-on of illuminations along the Golden Mile on Belgrave Road and a later fireworks display and funfair on Diwali Day itself.

However, Leicester City Council said, on Friday, this year the two events would be combined to focus on Diwali Day itself.

The authority said it had looked at ways to hold both events but had been unable to come up with an affordable plan.

'Entirely unsustainable'

It said the costs of running two events had escalated from £189,000 in 2018 to almost £250,000 because of traffic management, security, and associated infrastructure.

Vi Dempster, the council's assistant city mayor for culture, said: “We’re really proud of our Diwali celebrations in Leicester, and we want Diwali to continue to thrive as part of our annual events calendar.

“However, the rising cost of providing activities on two separate days is now entirely unsustainable.

"We are facing unprecedented pressures on our budgets, and the only way we could have continued with two events is to find other ways of securing the substantial funding needed.

"Unfortunately, that’s not happened."

The council said further details of the single celebration would be announced in the coming weeks

Mrs Dempster said the decision had been made following consultation with the Leicester Hindu Festival Council (LHFC) for many years to put on the Diwali events.

“We will of course continue to ensure that the Golden Mile is illuminated with thousands of lamps throughout the festival of Diwali," Mrs Dempster added.

"And we’re still expecting to welcome tens of thousands of visitors to join us for the celebration.”

The 2024 celebration on Diwali Day, 31 October, will involve activities and entertainment on Belgrave Road and Cossington Street, the council said, with further details to be released in the coming weeks.

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