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Thousands expected to gather for Vaisakhi parade

BBC Vaisakhi parade in coventryBBC
About 10,000 people took to the streets for the parade in Coventry last year, organisers said

Thousands of Sikhs are expected to gather to mark the festival of Vaisakhi in Coventry this weekend.

The Nagar Kirtan parade will begin at Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash on Harnall Lane West at 10:00 BST on Sunday.

Led by colourful floats, the procession will move through the city, travelling along Stoney Stanton Road and Foleshill Road before finishing back at Harnall Lane West.

Vaisakhi, one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar, is a spring festival which celebrates the creation of the Khalsa in 1699.

Vaisakhi celebrations in Coventry
The Nagar Kirtan procession will begin at Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash

About 10,000 people took part in the Coventry parade to mark Vaisakhi in April last year.

This year, the festival celebration fell on 13 April.

The day celebrates 1699 - the year when Sikhism was born as a collective faith.

Himmat Singh, organiser and education secretary with the Guru Nanak Parkash, said the parade was a "celebration of love, love for humanity and a love for God".

"The whole congregation... parades through the city whilst distributing free food for everyone and singing God's praises.

"Anyone is welcome."

Some main roads such as Harnall Lane, Stoney Stanton Road and Foleshill Road would be closed during the event, Mr Singh added.

Organisers said this year's procession would also commemorate 40 years since Operation Blue Star in 1984, in which the Indian army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar with the aim of flushing out Sikh separatists.

According to the Indian government, about 400 people were killed, including 87 soldiers.

But Sikh groups dispute this figure and say thousands died.

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