Thousands celebrate Eid in Trafalgar Square

They were entertained by live music from Arfoud Brothers and Sisters and the Baha Yetkin Sufi Ensemble.

A girl from Grace and Poise, the world’s first Muslim ballet school, performs during the Eid in the Square festival in Trafalgar Square (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

London welcomed back the annual Eid celebrations in Trafalgar Square after two years of the event being cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic.

The festival of Eid marks the end of a month of fasting during Ramadan.

Thousands of Londoners celebrated the occasion in Trafalgar Square on Saturday and enjoyed the good weather.

They were entertained by live music from Arfoud Brothers and Sisters and the Baha Yetkin Sufi Ensemble.

Eid in the Square festival in Trafalgar Square (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

There were also activities to entertain the children, including face painting and sword fights.

Long queues gathered in front of the festival’s many food stalls, with Naughty Boys’ Indian street food proving a particularly big hit.

Even London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was a fan.

“I’m looking forward to eating Naughty Boys‘ keema shepherd’s pie”, he told the PA news agency.

People celebrate during festival (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

The Labour mayor added that it was “fantastic” to be back at Eid in the Square after the two-year gap.

“It’s fantastic, you can feel the vibe, feel the atmosphere,” he said.

“This is one of the most famous squares in the world. I’m a firm believer that our diversity is a strength not a weakness.

“We should celebrate our diversity. It’s wonderful to see Muslims and non-Muslims coming together to celebrate this most important festival for the religion of Islam in this fantastic square in London.”

Long queues gathered in front of the festival’s many food stalls (Long queues gathered in front of the festival’s many food stalls/PA) (PA Wire)

Other festivalgoers were in high spirits too.

Akram, 25, from west London said: “It’s very nice, it’s nice to have a community vibe,” he said. “I’m going to walk around and see the stalls and performers.”

Mohammed, 24, from Romford, east London,  said he was surprised at how many people had turned up.

“I didn’t expect it to be so big,” he said. “I came a couple of years ago and it wasn’t that busy. It’s good to celebrate and have food with everyone.”