Leicester's Diwali party to stay in Golden Mile
The city council said about 50,000 people were believed to have attended last year's Diwali celebrations, with record numbers coming over the past two years.It said a number of meetings had been held by a Diwali safety advisory group, featuring representatives from the police, fire service and the NHS, to consider alternative arrangements.These included relocating to Abbey Park or the city centre, extending it onto Belgrave Circle or moving it to Melton Road.
'Format change needed'
Changes were agreed at a meeting on Wednesday with City Mayor Peter Soulsby, councillors, representatives from the Leicester Hindu Festival Council, members of the Jain and Sikh communities, and Belgrave Business Association.While Diwali Day will continue to be celebrated on Belgrave Road, which has been the centre of festivities for more than 40 years, it will be closed to all traffic for the evening.More than 6,000 lights will be installed along Belgrave Road, and the Wheel of Light will also return, but there will be no stage entertainment or firework display, while Cossington Street Recreation Ground will no longer feature as part of the events.Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for culture, said they had been "strongly advised" to change the format "due to the unrestricted and growing crowd numbers that it attracts"."Unfortunately, Leicester's annual Diwali festival has become a victim of its own success," she said."We are absolutely determined that Diwali continues to be part of the city's festive calendar."We also understand the depth of feeling to see it continue on the Golden Mile where it began over 40 years ago, [and] to do that, we must ensure that it can take place safely."
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