Sadiq Khan celebrates Eid with London Muslims

(10 Jul 2016) LEAD IN:
London has hosted Eid celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan.
Crowds gathered in the centre of the capital for the multicultural festival after a recent spike in hate crimes.

STORY-LINE:
Trafalgar Square right in the centre of London is hosting an Eid celebration for thousands of people.
Pearls of Islam are among the performers on stage entertaining the crowds.
This event takes place every year and Muslims and non-Muslims alike flock here to listen to music and sample cuisines from across the world.
This year is particularly special as it's the first Eid that London has had a Muslim mayor.
Sadiq Khan was elected in May this year and has had a turbulent start to his role.
In June, the British public voted to leave the European Union in a referendum.
Since the result was announced on 24 June, reports of hate crimes have risen by more than 50 percent in the capital.
"My analysis is, is that you can't draw conclusion other than that there is a link between the increase in racial incidents and the referendum campaign," Khan says.
But this Eid festival is a multicultural event, with performers from across the world and spectators from a variety of ethnic origins and religions.
Festival goer Phil Howsam says intolerant people make up a "very small amount" of society.
The event is also an opportunity to showcase art inspired by Islam.
Visitors browse the paintings and even add their own brush strokes to a communal canvas.
American Muslim Adriene Arbid-Peters says there have been positives to the referendum result.
"As well as a lot of hate crime there has been a lot of outpouring of love and appreciation for immigrants like myself and also immigrants from the EU," she says.
Children get their faces painted with colourful designs, and police officers chat to members of the public as well as enjoying some of the food on offer.
For visitors from outside the UK, it's an enjoyable festival.
"We're eating food, we're sharing love and that's the important thing in life, to have feelings, to be a human, to interact with people and like feel happy and be peaceful," says Jordanian Jane Harowani.
This is the 11th year the Eid festival has been staged. It is organised by the Mayor of London's office.
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