Ramadan 2025: Lights switched on in London’s Piccadilly Circus to mark start of holy month for Muslims

Over 1,500 people attended the event to mark the start of the month of fasting

The start of Ramadan 2025 was celebrated with lights being switched at London’s Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday (26 February).

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Good Morning Britain presenter Adil Ray and Capital radio host Yasser Ranjha were all in attendance to press the button that would light up the West End.

Funded by the Aziz Foundation, the celebration is now in its third year, with hundreds in Leicester Square gathering to mark the occasion.

“Anything that can bring us all together is a fantastic thing,” Ray told The Independent. “A lot of people are feeling that we desperately need to get back in touch with our humanity again. Events like Ramadan, like lots of other religious festivals, can really do that and I think they feel very special.”

He added: “I love looking around here. We are in Central London and it's just every colour, every age, and that’s what it should be about, inclusivity.”

Mayor Khan opened the event by saying: “Against all forms of hatred, we shine bright as a beacon of hope. We don’t simply tolerate difference, we respect, embrace and celebrate difference.”

Elsewhere, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited a restaurant in Soho to provide food donation boxes in honour of the holy month.

It comes during a tense time for the Muslim community, which has been affected by an exponential rise in Islamophobic hate crimes as well as the Southport riots.

An aerial shot of the Ramadan Lights (Aziz Foundation)

Wasim, 26, a visitor from Hertfordshire expressed some trepidation saying: “I thought there might be some kind of protest about this event. But that’s a minority, the majority want to celebrate. I’m happy to see them.”

Meanwhile, Sarah, 20, said she felt inspired by seeing the diversity of the city. Travelling from France, she said her Algerian Muslim background is a constant source of attack in her country.

“In France, this [event] would be unimaginable,” she told The Independent. “You can’t get many jobs with a headscarf there, only in shops. Here, you see police, politicians, and lots of people wearing it.”

Yasser Ranjha, Mayor Sadiq Khan, Rahima Aziz and Adil Ray switch on the lights (PA)

Rahima Aziz MBE, a trustee at the Foundation, said she hopes that the event would bring “the same joy as the Christmas lights”.

“There's been a huge outpouring of support from the local community, from the local businesses,” she said. “And of course, you'll have a few odd people who don't like new things.”

As well as the Ramadan Lights, which can be found on Coventry Street near Leicester Square, there is a smaller installation that tourists and visitors can visit around the corner near the Mary Poppins statue. They will be on display until Eid, at which point they will change to mark that celebration.

An Iftar Trail has also been organised, providing Londoners with discounts at several restaurants and foot outlets around the city.

Muslims around the globe observe the holy month of Ramadan every year, a period of deep spiritual reflection and fasting.

The festival begins with the sighting of the crescent moon, which usually appears one night after a new moon. In 2025, Ramadan is expected to begin on the evening of Friday 28 February and will conclude on the evening of Sunday 30 March.