Edinburgh Diwali Brings a Free Parade, Bollywood Rock and Fireworks to the City Centre on Sunday

More than 200 performers will gather in St Andrew Square at lunchtime on Sunday 15 November for the 11th Edinburgh Diwali, and the day carries on until fireworks go up over West Princes Street Gardens in the evening. It’s free and nothing needs booking. The city’s celebration comes a week after Diwali itself, which fell on 8 November this year, so families get a Sunday to come along together.

“Come and join us. Bring your family, your friends, your neighbours,” Rajnish Singh, the festival’s president, told North Edinburgh News.

The Parade Leaves St Andrew Square From 12.30pm

Bands and dancers gather and perform in St Andrew Square first, then the procession heads west along George Street to Castle Street, and the rest of the afternoon moves down to the Ross Bandstand in West Princes Street Gardens. The City of Edinburgh Council lists the whole event as running from 12.30pm to 7pm.

• Performances in St Andrew Square start at 12.30pm, and the organisers’ poster has the parade setting off at about 1.10pm.
• The procession should reach Castle Street by around 2pm, according to the same poster, with more music and dance there before 3pm.
• Live music and dance begin at the Ross Bandstand at 3pm.
• The fireworks close the day in the early evening, at a time that depends on which listing you read.

Fireworks Are Due Around 6.30pm, but the Fire Service Lists 7.30pm

The organisers, the council and the city’s tourism site Forever Edinburgh all give the fireworks as around 6.30pm. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service register of organised displays, which was last updated on 9 November, has the same West Princes Street Gardens display down for 7.30pm, with the event starting there at 6pm.

The organisers are the ones running the night, so we’d go by 6.30pm and be in the gardens by about 6.15pm. If the fire service turns out to be right, you’ll have spent an extra hour at the bandstand with the headline act, which is hardly a bad way to wait.

Shoonya Headlines at the Bandstand After a Parade Led by Pipers

The Scottish Regiment Band leads the parade, with the Glencorse Pipe Band in it as well and the Edinburgh Noise Committee bringing the percussion. Among the dance groups are Bihari Ladies Group, Edinburgh Bhangra Crew, Junoon from the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh Colombian group El Encanto, while Yatra and a Malayali group perform South Indian dance and Lasya Dance Crew make their Edinburgh Diwali debut.

From 3pm at the bandstand, Ahalya Dance Academy performs Narakasuravadham, a dance drama telling the story behind the festival, and BollyFeat, Dance Ihayami and Dance@Studio21 are on the bill too. Shoonya, billed by the organisers as the UK’s premier Bollywood rock band, plays alongside the fireworks finale.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, who is Edinburgh’s Lord Provost as well as chair of Edinburgh Diwali, described the day as “a celebration of light, hope, unity and the triumph of good over evil”.

Take the Tram and Dress for an Evening Outdoors

St Andrew Square has its own tram stop for the start, and Princes Street is the stop for the gardens, which saves hunting for a parking space in a city centre where the parade will be holding up traffic on George Street in the early afternoon. Check Lothian Buses for diversions before you set off.

The organisers haven’t said whether seats will be set out at the bandstand, and by the time the fireworks start you’ll have been standing outside in November for a while, so bring layers. Questions about access can go to the organisers at [email protected].

If you can only make part of the day, come for the start in St Andrew Square and then the last hour at the bandstand, when Shoonya and the fireworks overlap.