Liverpool festival fun as L8 Mela celebrate’s city’s diversity

Feb 25 2008 by Samantha Parker, Liverpool Daily Post

HUNDREDS of people flocked to Toxteth for the “L8 Mela” on Saturday to celebrate the number of diverse cultures the neighbourhood embraces.

An array of activities took place at the Merseyside Caribbean Centre and the surrounding area of Mulgrave Street.

The multicultural youth festival “L8 Mela” was organised by Liverpool Supplementary School with support from the Arabic Cultural Foundation.

It brought together young people from different communities, ethnicities and faiths in a celebration of their contribution to the enlivening multi-culturalism of the area.

Special guests participating in the L8 Mela included the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Dame Lorna Muirhead, and leader of the City Council, Cllr Warren Bradley.

Taking its name from a common South Asian word for ”festival”, the L8 Mela featured activities ranging from climbing walls, football skills, hand painting, bouncy castles, karate demonstrations, and competitions to traditional stalls.

Speaking of the event, Dr Abdul Hamid, chairman of Liverpool Supplementary School, said: “The UK's major cities have been bustling with Melas for years to celebrate their diverse communities so we thought it high time to kick start the tradition in Liverpool, particularly as we are now European Capital of Culture.

“We have put young people at the heart of our Mela by enabling our Youth Forum to play a part in the event organisation.”

TO SEE a picture slideshow of the event, log on to liverpooldailypost.co.uk