London is preparing to celebrate Asian culture and showcase a combination of legends, international artists, national treasures, local talent, comedy, cabaret, Bollywood and a few other guilty pleasures.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the mela’s theme this year is ‘Love’, a celebration of the positive force that makes the world go round and brings all communities together.
Mela’s have become one big melting pot of a party celebrating through music, dance, food and culture, the traditions of the huge number of diverse communities who live in Britain.
This year’s main stage features special exclusive performances from India’s Queen of Hip Hop – Hard Kaur flying in from Mumbai especially and from the streets of Amritsar, the Bhangra pop maestros Desi Crew will make a special one-off appearance.
They are joined by the biggest selling female Bhangra artist in the world – Miss Pooja and India’s first SKA band, the funky eight piece, The Ska Vengers.
Mercury Music Prize winner Talvin Singh, OBE, has been commissioned to curate the Anokha stage creating the perfect club in a completely blacked out space 20-years after the release of the ground-breaking Anokha Soundz of the Asian Underground album.
In keeping with the Asian Underground retrospective, DJ Rekha is jetting in from New York following her Central Park 20th anniversary Basement Bhangra show.
She’ll warm up for British Asian underground legends Asian Dub Foundation, who close the main stage, before a spectacular finale show involving a crane and nine crazy French clowns dangling from it, the Mobille Homme from Transe Express, collaborating with The Dhol Academy from East London.
And it’s not just compelling music, taste buds can be tickled at The Taste of Asia too, with the biggest South Asian food market this side of New Delhi, and shopping galore at the Mela Bazaar with international market stalls, and a gigantic fun fair and a firework finale all thrown in.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This wonderful family event showcases the fantastic diversity of Asian arts and culture in the capital, and invites Londoners from all backgrounds to come together and get involved.
“Over the last 15-years the Mela really has gone from strength to strength, with fantastic street theatre, dancing and delicious Asian cuisine. It’s events like this, taking place in all corners of the city that remind us that London is open, for all of our communities and to the world.”
Zee London Mela 2017
When: 03 September 2017
Where: Gunnersbury Park, London, W3 8LQ
Who: Hard Kaur, Desi Crew, Miss Pooja The Ska Vengers, Talvin Singh, DJ Rekha Asian Dub Foundation
What: Family-friendly festival, end of the summer hotspot for catching great music, great food,
How much: Free
How to get there
- Acton Town Tube Station (Piccadilly and District lines) Turn left when you leave the station and walk for about 10 minutes, crossing the A406
- South Ealing Tube Station (Piccadilly line)
- Brentford Rail Station (South West Trains)
