Two-day Bangladesh Festival to be opened in London
The annual festival will be held on November 16-17 at the Bethnal Green Library
Bangladeshi diaspora in London is ready to host this year's edition of the Bangladesh Festival to promote Bengali culture and heritage in Britain.
The annual festival will be held on November 16-17 at the Bethnal Green Library.
The two-day festival will showcase Bengali literature, music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, arts and crafts.
Dr Gowher Rizvi, international affairs advisor to the prime minister of Bangladesh, and Dr Kamal Naser Chowdhury, eminent poet and chief coordinator of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary National Committee, will be present at the festival's inaugural ceremony, among others.
John Biggs, executive mayor of London Borough of Tower Hamlets, will also be present at the event.
The festival was first arranged in 2010 by the Shommilito Sangskritik Parishad, UK, in partnership with the Bangla Academy, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh High Commission in London, and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Golam Mostafa, the current president of Shommilito Sangskritik Jote, UK, who is also the president of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, UK, and Professor Shamsuzzaman Khan, the then director-general of the Bangla Academy, took the initiative to hold an annual book fair and literary festival in London.
In the past, several distinguished Bangladeshi and other political and cultural figures have graced the festival with their presence.
