Bristol grand Iftar celebrated on College Green

The Bristol event was celebrated on College Green

Hundreds of people have gathered on Bristol's College Green to celebrate a grand Iftar meal.

The event is normally held on St Marks Road but was instead celebrated on the green, which is in front of the city council building.

The gathering is a space where the Muslim community shares its faith and food with the wider community.

The Iftar meal is eaten by Muslim families after sunset, and breaks the daytime fasting during Ramadan.

Hundreds of people took part in the celebration

The events in Bristol are open to all people and date back to 2017.

Council of Bristol Mosques chair Arif Khan helped to set up the gathering and also one in Turkey for those affected by the recent earthquakes.

He said it "brought tears" to his eyes to help after the quakes.

Arif Khan said it "makes me feel good" to see people coming together for the Iftar

"We came across a dear lady who was left all on her own, who'd lost all her family members, and her legs were totally injured," he said.

"She was in a wheelchair and we comforted her. We comforted many hundreds of people there.

"It makes you feel good because, similarly here, people of all faiths, all groups, they join us to get together and break the fast together."

Mr Khan organised another Iftar celebration in Turkey for people who were affected by the recent earthquake

Pakistani Welfare Organisation member Shehnaz Dar said the celebration in College Green was in "the heart of the city".

"We are all one community though we belong to different faiths, races, colours," she said.

"We are one community, we are Bristolian, one Bristol city."

Shehnaz Dar said it was great to see the Iftar being celebrated

Bridges for Communities member Dan Green, who helped to set up the event, said "food is a connecting force".

"It allows you to build relationships, listen to one another, in a way that I think our society needs more and more," he said.