02 London Mela 2011

The 02 London Mela - Europe’s largest outdoor Asian festival - returns to Gunnersbury Park, Ealing, on Sunday 4 September. Last year’s Mela attracted a record-breaking 92,000 people, and this year the festival is set to be even bigger and better than ever, with nine zones including The Main Stage, Mix Tent, BBC Introducing, The Classical stage, Community & Kids zone, Outdoor arts and ‘In conversation with’, not to mention the food markets and funfair.

There is also a new stage ‘Indy Indie’ programmed by Global Local & Continental Drifts which features music from the left-field of the South Asian Diaspora from Desi Rock to Indo-electronica.

The Outdoor arts programme includes ‘Jannat’ a three-year Cultural Olympiad project by London, Bradford and Liverpool melas, which creatively reflects on climate change and takes its inspiration from the islands of Fuji, Trinidad and Mauritius. There will also be shows from from Nutkhut and a number of other top UK outdoor arts companies.

The Community Stage will invite people to show off their skills in ‘Mela’s Got Talent’ and showcase Asian dance groups from across London and the UK – all hosted by renowned Choreographer and Dance Entertainer Jay Kumar.

The Kid’s Area is programmed by Emergency Exit Arts providing activities and entertainment for the younger festival goers. A delightful, interactive space where visitors can experience the magic of stories, dance and creative play, and a giant funfair. All this plus food, crafts and cultural stalls.

In the Classical Zone – supported by the British Heart Foundation and Compered by Ashanti Omkar– there will be performances celebrating Asian communities’ heritage, This year's Classical stage plays tribute to two famous poets of the sub-continent, Nobel prize winner Rabindranath Tagore and Nobel nominee and Lenin Peace Prize winner, Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Both of whom have left a lasting imprint on the minds of Classical arts lovers, Tagore's 150th birth anniversary and Faiz Ahmed Faiz's 100th are celebrated with aplomb, with Sufi and Bengali music and dance, performed in a way that all audiences can enjoy and connect. The stage incorporates the rare South Indian instrument, the Veena, via BBC 3's World Routes protégé.

Visit www.londonmela.org for more information