Sikh Vaisakhi festival celebrations to take place in city

Celebrations for the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi are taking place this weekend.

The annual festivities will be marked by thousands from Leicester's Sikh community.

Events will include activities at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery in New Walk, and a huge parade across the city centre.

The city council said: "These events are open to anyone to take part, to bring to life this colourful celebration."

The museum will host a free day-long series of events and activities themed around Vaisakhi, run in partnership with the Sikh Museum Initiative and Falcons Primary School.

The event, which will run from 11:00 - 16:00 BST on Saturday, will include a performance by children of the story of Vaisakhi.

Deputy city mayor for culture, leisure and sport Piara Singh Clair said: "Vaisakhi is always a busy time for celebration in Leicester.

"These events are open to anyone to take part, to bring to life this colourful celebration."

The Vaisakhi procession will be taking place in the city centre on Sunday.

It regularly involves up to 10,000 participants and thousands of spectators, and will begin making its way across the city from about 11:30 BST.

Gurinder Singh Mann, the director of the Sikh Museum Initiative, said: "This weekend sees a welcome return for the Sikh community to celebrate Vaisakhi.

"The events are a great way that Sikhs can celebrate but also a way for the general populace to get involved."

St Nicholas Circle, on the city's inner ring road, and St George's Way will be closed to traffic for about one hour each.

Director of city highways Martin Fletcher said: "The Vaisakhi parade takes place every year so we have plenty of experience of managing the impact caused to other road users.

"We're working closely with the police to ensure the event goes ahead safely, while also ensuring the impact on the city's road network is kept to a minimum."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].