The Hindu New Year Celebrations were celebrated across BAPS Mandirs and Centres across the UK on Sunday 18 October 2009. The festival in Leicester was held at Soar Valley College attended by two local councillors and more than 20 community and interfaith leaders. Deputy Lord Mayor of Nottingham Councillor Mick Wildgust and his wife Lady Carole Wildgust attended the festival at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Nottingham.
The new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Wellingborough, opened in August 2009, held its first Annakut that was attended by The Lord Mayor of Wellingborough, Peter Morrall. The Mayor of Preston along with representatives from Lancashire Police Constabulary and the local education authority attended a special assembly at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Preston to celebrate this occasion.
A surprise appearance from Surrey and former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash, in addition to the visit of Mayor of Solihull Cllr Norman Davies and his wife Brenda Davies contributed to a memorable event at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Birmingham.
In addition to these venues, the Annakut festival was also celebrated at Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Cardiff, Coventry, Crawley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Havant, Hinckley, Leeds, Lisbon, Loughborough, Luton, Milton Keynes and Southend-on-Sea in the United Kingdom, with celebrations also held at Antwerp, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Paris and Vienna across Europe. |
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