Thousands of people are expected to attend Aberdeen Mela-One World Day 2022, an event celebrating multiculturalism and diversity.
Known as the largest celebration of its kind in the north of Scotland, the family event is back for the first time since 2019.
The festival is taking place on Sunday, August 21, in Westburn Park from 12noon to 7pm.
More than 100 performers will be taking part on the day with live music, dancing and workshops available for visitors to enjoy.
An after-party will also be taking place at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen at 8pm.
Visitors from all over Scotland
The festival was first launched as One World Day in 2014 with the help of organiser John Foster, who unfortunately did not live to see the first event.
When the name was changed to Aberdeen Mela in 2016, part of the name was kept in honour of his memory.
Organiser and manager of the Aberdeen Multicultural Centre, Ahashan Habib, said they were already getting a good response from communities.
He said: “We’re getting a lot of inquiries and people are really keen to come and join this event.
“We get visitors from all over Scotland. We get people from Moray, Inverness, the Highlands, Dundee, Angus and even people coming from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Last time we had people coming from England.
“We are getting really good performers who are well known in the communities. So we’re hoping if the weather is on our side, it is going to be a great event.”
‘A celebration of bringing people together’
A few of the headlining acts on the day include Guru Soundz, Guarana Street Drummers, Baila Venezuela and Desi Bravehearts.
Lucy Stroud, communications and marketing manager for the event, said it was going to be a fun-filled day.
She added: “It’s a family fun day celebrating multiculturalism and diversity in the north-east of Scotland.
“It really is about bringing together communities and bringing together the city which is particularly important in the pandemic context where people have been quite isolated.
“This is really a celebration of bringing people together, communities together and celebrating our similarities, as well as appreciating respecting our differences.
“We’ll see that with the array of different foods that’s going to be on show as well as the performers that are coming from across the UK and local artists as well.
“It’s just one of the things that you can go and just you can just stay forever, because there’s always something you can be doing or seeing or eating or hearing.”
This year for the first time, there will also be an after-party at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen. DJ Sandyman, who has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and the Queen’s garden party, will be performing at the venue.
Ms Stroud added: “He’s going to be bringing a taste of Bollywood up to Aberdeen which I think is going to be excellent.”
While entry to Westburn Park is free, the after-party is a ticketed event. These can be purchased for £5.50 online or at the door.
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