Cardiff Mela
Encyclopedia
The Cardiff
Mela
(also known as the Cardiff
Multicultural Mela
) is an annual large-scale outdoor multicultural festival, held in the city's Roald Dahl Plass
, in Cardiff Bay
. It is a free event and run by a not for profit organisation based in Cardiff. It celebrates many cultural aspects of Asian life, particularly music, dance, fashion and food. The annual event first took place on an outdoor loaction in 2007 at Coopers Field, Cardiff Castle in the heart of Cardiff City Centre. The 2009 festival featured bhangra, bollywood and rnb singers including H Dhami, Mumzy Stranger
and Navin Kundra
amongst others. The 2010 event attracted over 30,000 visitors and featured a performance from Bombay Rockers
.
The Cardiff Mela is also part of Cardiff Festivals which is a series of events that include live music, street theatre, open-air theatre, children’s entertainment and funfairs. Cardiff Festival provides a mix of popular, well-established and new events that take place in the city centre and around Cardiff Bay.
The Mela was founded by Imran Iqbal who is currently the event's artistic director and coordinator.
stage, performing at all three events in the same day. The event itself was headlined by the Bombay Rockers and Imran Khan, however Imran Khan was unable to perform due to ill health.
, Jernade Miah, Panjabi by Nature, Panjabi Hit Squad, Junai Kaden, Mo Sabri the Overnight Classic & Juz D. The event was hosted by Tommy Sandhu
and Noreen Khan from the BBC Asian Network
.
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
Mela
Mela
Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance...
(also known as the Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
Multicultural Mela
Mela
Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance...
) is an annual large-scale outdoor multicultural festival, held in the city's Roald Dahl Plass
Roald Dahl Plass
Roald Dahl Plass is a public plaza in Cardiff Bay, part of Cardiff, Wales. It is named after Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, and is located on the coast along the south of the city centre. The square is home to the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, a performing arts centre...
, in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
. It is a free event and run by a not for profit organisation based in Cardiff. It celebrates many cultural aspects of Asian life, particularly music, dance, fashion and food. The annual event first took place on an outdoor loaction in 2007 at Coopers Field, Cardiff Castle in the heart of Cardiff City Centre. The 2009 festival featured bhangra, bollywood and rnb singers including H Dhami, Mumzy Stranger
Mumzy Stranger
Muhammad Mumith Ahmed , better known by his stage name Mumzy Stranger, is a British MC, singer-songwriter and record producer. He made his mainstream recording debut in the summer of 2009 with his debut single "One More Dance," which topped the UK Asian Charts, as did the follow-up singles,...
and Navin Kundra
Navin Kundra
Navin Kundra is a British Indian singer-songwriter, who writes, composes and performs songs in Hindi, Punjabi and English.-Career:His first break came on his 19th Birthday when he represented the UK in an exclusive World Series of Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa filmed in Dubai...
amongst others. The 2010 event attracted over 30,000 visitors and featured a performance from Bombay Rockers
Bombay Rockers
Bombay Rockers is a Danish/Indian band, popular in India. Their debut album Introducing has gone five times platinum with sales of over 100,000 albums.-Biography:...
.
The Cardiff Mela is also part of Cardiff Festivals which is a series of events that include live music, street theatre, open-air theatre, children’s entertainment and funfairs. Cardiff Festival provides a mix of popular, well-established and new events that take place in the city centre and around Cardiff Bay.
The Mela was founded by Imran Iqbal who is currently the event's artistic director and coordinator.
2010 Event
In 2010, the mela was part of a special national partnership entitled 'Planes, Trains and Rickshaws' which saw the two performers start their day in Cardiff Bay, followed by a trip down the M4 to the London Mela, then flying north to end their journey on the Edinburgh MelaEdinburgh mela
The Edinburgh Mela is an annual multi-cultural festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland,and is one of the 12 festivals that make up the Edinburgh Festival. The first mela, a Sanskrit word meaning "gathering" or "to meet", was held in 1995 at Meadowbank Stadium, and was organised by members of the...
stage, performing at all three events in the same day. The event itself was headlined by the Bombay Rockers and Imran Khan, however Imran Khan was unable to perform due to ill health.
2011 Event
The 2011 event took place on Sunday 17th July 2011 and featured performances from Stereo Nation, Mumzy StrangerMumzy Stranger
Muhammad Mumith Ahmed , better known by his stage name Mumzy Stranger, is a British MC, singer-songwriter and record producer. He made his mainstream recording debut in the summer of 2009 with his debut single "One More Dance," which topped the UK Asian Charts, as did the follow-up singles,...
, Jernade Miah, Panjabi by Nature, Panjabi Hit Squad, Junai Kaden, Mo Sabri the Overnight Classic & Juz D. The event was hosted by Tommy Sandhu
Tommy Sandhu
Tommy Sandhu is a British DJ, Remixer, producer and television presenter who shot to fame after he appeared on the dating game show Blind Date with Cilla Black. Tommy is best known for his trademark shaved head and cheeky nature....
and Noreen Khan from the BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
.