大象传媒

Boishakhi Mela special with Anwarul Hoque. His guests include Baby Naznin, Kala Miah and others. Flavour from the day's mela, where over 100,000 people gathered in celebration. The Baishakhi Mela takes place across the area of Banglatown in the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London through Brick Lane to Weavers Fields and Allen Gardens in Bethnal Green. The event is a celebration of the Bengali New Year, with musical and cultural events held. It is the largest open-air Asian festival in Europe and the largest Bengali festival outside of Bangladesh. After the Notting Hill Carnival, it is the second-largest street festival in the UK attracting over 100,000 visitors from around the UK. Although, the Bengali new year falls on 14/15 April (1st Boishakh in the Bengali calendar), the festival is held in the second weekend of May on a Sunday to avoid the period of higher risk of rain during the month of April. Having started in 1997, the 10th anniversary of the mela was celebrated in 2007.