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Thousands gather to celebrate Diwali in Leicester

Will JeffordEast Midlands
BBC A group of people in front of a Ferris wheelBBC
Visitors turned out to enjoy music and performances across Leicester

Leicester's Diwali celebrations attracted about 30,000 people to the city on Sunday.

The annual Diwali festivities - among the largest outside India - saw the Golden Mile along Belgrave Road illuminated, the return of the Wheel of Light and venues hosting exhibitions, workshops and family activities.

Diwali, the festival of light, is celebrated by Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities and is associated with the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and hope over despair.

People gathered in the city on the weekend, with the main focus of celebrations at Cossington Recreation Ground, where a full philharmonic orchestra was one of a number of performers.

Leicester City Council Colourful lights on lamppostsLeicester City Council
Colourful lights lined the streets of Leicester during the event
A group of people walking down a street with lights either side
Thousands of people celebrated Diwali in the East Midlands city

Speaking ahead of the event, Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for culture, said she hoped this year's Diwali celebrations would be "another memorable occasion" for the city.

Leicester City Council said about 30,000 people attended the celebration.

However, once again there was no firework display at the end of the day's celebrations.

A group of people standing in front of lights on lampposts
Revellers travelled from as far away as Canada to join in with the festivities
Leicester City Council A group of street cleaners dressed in orange overallsLeicester City Council
City cleaners were out until late on Sunday night to clean the streets ahead of rush hour on Monday morning
A brightly-lit Ferris wheel
The Wheel of Light returned to Leicester for the festival

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