Thousands basked in the sunshine on Sunday at the Birmingham Eid Mela as temperatures soared to 27C (81F).
Attendance levels at the event in Cannon Hill Park – boasting the best in Islamic live music, dancing, colourful stalls and good food – were considerably higher than last year’s mela, where only around around 4,000 people went along in the rainy weather.
This year however, the festival – opened by Birmingham’s Lord Mayor, Coun Chauhdry Rashid – attracted thousands more visitors, with Dawud Wharnsby Ali headlining a line-up of acts including Legacy, Poetic Pilgrimage, AK Folk Group and Khaleel Mohammed.
Among the family activities were a funfair, bazaar with clothing, jewellery and music stalls and dhol drumming displays. Coun Zaker Choudhry, chairman of Birmingham Eid Mela committee, described the event as a “family-friendly festival” with a “vibrant and colourful celebration of South Asian culture”.
Coun Ray Hassall, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, added the council was “proud to be supporting this fantastic celebration of Islamic culture in the beautiful setting of Cannon Hill Park”.
The Birmingham Eid Mela was organised by the council in partnership with the city’s muslim organisations and communities.
Revellers at the Global Gathering festival in Warwickshire also welcomed the weather. The two-day event in Long Marston Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon, featured a line-up including chart-topping artists Kanye West, Mark Ronson, Moby, Eric Prydz and Robyn.
Air show legends The Red Arrows also put on a spectacular display.
Last week police in Warwickshire issued an alcohol and drugs warning ahead of the event, while joining forces with Warwickshire County Council’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team (Daat).
Among the strategies used by the police were amnesty bins at the entrance to allow people to dispose of any drugs.
The weekend’s glorious weather proved a challenge for participants of Nettle Warrior XI in Staffordshire, who tested their physical and mental endurance in an obstacle course described by organisers as “an original survival ordeal”.
Set in more than 150 acres of countryside in Perton, it involved a number of obstacles including a series of slaloms, cargo nets, tunnels, fences, ditches and jumps. The event operates a 50/50 sponsorship scheme and it is compulsory for 50 per cent of all money raised to go to charity.
But weather experts have predicted the region would face thunderstorms and a drop in temperature this week.
A spokesman said: “The weekend has been fairly nice but as for the next couple of days, there will be a chance of thunderstorms.
“On Monday, it will be warm in the morning with temperatures of 26C (79F) but there will be an increasing risk of showers and thunderstorms. By Tuesday, it will not be looking quite as warm as it has been with temperatures reaching 22C (72F).”
