Diwali is the most widely celebrated Hindu festival in the world — and nowhere is that clearer than in the diaspora, where the festival has taken root in soil its founders never imagined.
Trinidad: the biggest Diwali outside India
Trinidad and Tobago hosts what is widely considered the largest Diwali celebration outside of India. Diwali Nagar in Chaguanas draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The Indo-Trinidadian community — descendants of indentured labourers brought from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — has kept the festival alive for over 175 years.
Fiji: devotion on the Pacific
Fiji's Hindu community celebrates Diwali with a particular intensity. Cut off from India for generations, Indo-Fijians have preserved traditions that have faded in India itself. Diwali in Suva or Lautoka feels like a time capsule — the prayers, the clay diyas, the family rituals unchanged across a century of Pacific life.
Leicester and the UK's Diwali capital
Leicester's Golden Mile hosts Europe's largest Diwali celebration outside India. The lights go up along Belgrave Road every October and attract visitors from across the country.
Wear the festival
This Diwali, wear your two flags with pride. The festival is yours — it always has been.
