Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in South Asia and Expo 2020 Dubai is acknowledging that with a jam-packed schedule of events over the weekend. Celebrations for the five-day festival of lights have already begun at the world's fair, with some of the biggest attractions taking place on the main day on Thursday. Events will continue until Saturday, with shows, attractions and special food offers planned.
Scroll through the gallery above for pictures of Diwali preparations at Expo 2020 Dubai. Follow the latest updates on the Expo here
Below are the Diwali events not to be missed.
Concerts
The ongoing Late Nights @ Expo concert series will host a Diwali special for two nights with Badshah, currently one of the hottest names in the Indian music scene, as the star attraction. The rapper, known for hits such as Paani Paani and Genda Phool, will perform on Thursday (November 4) along with singers Aastha Gill and Rico.
Fans can look forward to a rendition of the viral Bachpan Ka Pyaar song featuring all the three artists as well as young internet sensation Sahdev Dirdo. The song has been viewed more than 276 million times on YouTube since its debut in August.
Thursday night will also feature performances by Dhol Tasha, a Dubai band made up of Indian musicians, known for their traditional tunes. Multilingual indie-folk band When Chai Met Toast from Kochi, South India, will complete the line-up. Comprising lead vocalist Ashwin Gopakumar, guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal, keyboardist Palee Francis and drummer Pai Sailesh, the band will present their blend of folk, rock, synth and electronic music.
On Friday, UAE music star Esther Eden, who scored a recording contract with international label Universal Music at the age of 17, will open the Diwali weekend with her jazz-influenced, self-penned tunes. Eden will be joined by Indian vocalist and composer Shilpa Ananth who is known for her unique sound fusing soul, jazz and electronic influences. Ananth, who splits her time living in Dubai and New York, merges three of India’s oldest languages – Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi – with English to create music that transcends borders and cultures.
New Delhi band Peter Cat Recording Co, whose lead front man Suryakant Sawhney's voice has been likened to that of legendary Rat Pack singer Dean Martin, will also perform on Friday. With seven albums behind them, the band is known for their experimentation with jazz, ambient and electronic music.
At the Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre, musician duo Salim-Suleiman, whose credits include some of the biggest Bollywood hits spanning more than a decade, will perform on Thursday, starting at 9pm. Dubai rock band Dhruv, who perform mostly in Hindi, will be on the same stage on Friday, starting at 8.30pm.
Late Nights @ Expo’s Diwali weekend is at the Jubilee Stage from 10.30pm to 1am on both nights. Admission is open to all Expo 2020 ticket holders on a first-come, first-served basis
Food
Diwali is as much about food as it is a celebration of new beginnings. And Expo 2020's many restaurants will take note, offering up special menus and flavours for the occasion.
Hailed as one of the UK's most creative and accomplished Indian chefs, Rohit Ghai has brought his first solo restaurant, Kutir, from London’s Chelsea to the world's fair. To mark Diwali, Kutir will present a special five-course Signature Expedition set menu, including vegetarian options, from Thursday to Saturday.
Bread Ahead Bakery & School is hosting Diwali-themed workshops where they will teach techniques for baking traditional Indian sweet treats served as a centrepiece during Diwali. On the menu are bread ladoos (sweetened bread bundles), nan khatai (orange, almond and cardamom biscuits) and gulab jamun (milk-solid-based sweets) soaked in saffron and rose syrup. The two to three-hour Diwali classes take place on Thursday and Friday from 6pm.
The bakery will also be selling special pistachio doughnuts throughout Diwali.
Farrago, which serves international cuisine and can be found at both the Mobility and Sustainability districts, has also introduced an extensive Diwali sweets menu, serving everything from rasgulla (a sweet, soft, spongy dessert), kesari phirni (Kashmiri rice pudding), rasmalai (a Bengali sweet made with Indian cottage cheese) and boondi ladoos (festive sweets made with gram flour, ghee, sugar, nuts and cardamom powder). The Diwali sweets menu will be available until Saturday.
2020 Club by Emaar, the restaurant located next to Al Wasl Dome and the UAE pavilion, will offer an exclusive Diwali dinner, with five contemporary cuisines to choose from. The restaurant’s farm-to-table concept features scores of organic and local ingredients in line with Expo 2020’s sustainability ethos.
Those looking for a no-frills, budget-friendly Indian meal can head to Al Farwania, which originally started as a tiny tea shop in Dubai in 1981. Expect to enjoy dal, parathas, keema and chilli parathas, washed down with Al Farwania’s famous karak chai.
Restaurants and workshops will require advance booking so make sure to check before heading to the fair.
Other attractions
To mark the festivities, the India Pavilion will offer dance, music and food specials until Saturday. It even has an interactive musical LED rangoli – the colourful designs traditionally made from flower petals, coloured rice or sand, meant to bring good luck – activated when visitors step on sensors, radiating light and patterns to represent happiness, positivity and prosperity.
Every night, Al Wasl Plaza, the centrepiece of Expo 2020, will present a specially curated show to celebrate Diwali. The 360-degree projection on the world’s largest immersive dome will come alive with illumination created especially for Diwali, while live performances will be held at the plaza. Visitors can catch the shows every night until Saturday, from 10pm to 11pm.
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Scroll through the gallery below for images of Diwali preparations across India:
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An Indian clay artist, Sujata Chitrakar, works with an idol of the goddess Kali ahead of Diwali in Kolkata. EPA -
An artist gives the final touches to an idol of Kali, the Hindu goddess of power, in Siliguri, West Bengal. AFP -
Members of the Just Sewa Society distribute lamps and grocery items to people in need during an event ahead of Diwali, in Amritsar. AFP -
An Indian clay artist works with idols of the goddess Kali in Kolkata. EPA -
A street vendor applies dye to earthen pots to be used as decorative items, in Hyderabad. AFP -
People shop at a crowded market in New Delhi. Reuters -
People shop for paper lanterns and other decorative items in Mumbai. AFP -
A vendor selling firecrackers in Allahabad. AFP -
A street vendor sells decorative items at a market in New Delhi. AFP -
A street vendor dyes earthen lamps in New Delhi. AFP -
Shoppers buy decorative items in New Delhi. AFP -
People hold placards to raise awareness on air pollution caused by firecrackers, in Siliguri. AFP -
People buy decorative items at a market in Amritsar. AFP -
A shopkeeper hangs artificial flower garlands in Amritsar. AFP -
Flower garlands at a shop in New Delhi. AFP -
A vendor carries a bunch of roses at a flower market in New Delhi. AFP -
A woman makes garlands in New Delhi. AFP -
Shoppers in Chennai. EPA -
An artist gives finishing touches to an idol of Lakshmi in Kolkata. AP -
People buy flowers, fruits and essentials at a city market in Bengaluru. EPA -
A shop selling earthen lamps in Bengaluru. EPA -
A worker hangs decoration items in Amritsar. AFP -
An artisan paints a statue of Lakshmi on the outskirts of Hyderabad. AFP -
A young artisan at work in Hyderabad. AFP -
A vendor arranges decorative lights at a market in New Delhi. AFP -
A worker arranges artificial flowers in Amritsar. AFP -
A potter loads dried clay earthen lamps into a furnace in Allahabad. AFP -
A craftsman paints earthen lamps in Amritsar. AFP -
A visually impaired youth makes candles to be sold for Diwali in New Delhi. AFP -
An artisan works on an idol of the goddess Kali on the outskirts of Hyderabad. AFP -
Customers visit a shop selling decorative electric lights in Kolkata. EPA -
Potters make diyas or earthen oil lamps in New Delhi. AFP -
A worker makes candles in Ahmedabad. AFP -
A worker at a candle making shop in Ahmedabad. AFP -
A woman at a flower shop on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. AFP -
Women work inside an artifical flower shop in Ahmedabad. AFP -
Workers make firecrackers at a workshop in Ahmedabad. AFP -
Girls prepare wax-filled earthen lamps ahead of Diwali, at a centre for visually challenged girls in Ahmedabad. AFP
