On Sunday 28 October 2018, Trafalgar Square became the setting for London’s annual Diwali Festival. The free event brought music, dance, food, workshops and illuminated installations into the centre of the city, welcoming London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities alongside visitors from across the capital.

This Roberts London film follows the square as daylight fades and the Festival of Lights takes over. It begins among the afternoon crowds, moves around the main stage and fountains, and ends beneath a brightly illuminated Nelson’s Column.

A London festival in the heart of the city

The 2018 celebration ran from 1pm until 7pm. Presented by the Mayor of London with the support of the Diwali in London committee, it used Trafalgar Square as both a performance space and a meeting place. The main stage stood at the foot of Nelson’s Column, while stalls and activities spread around the square.

Diwali is widely known as the Festival of Lights, although its religious stories and observances differ across Hindu, Sikh and Jain traditions. In Trafalgar Square, the shared public celebration centred on light, community and the visibility of London’s many cultures.

Music and dance on the Trafalgar Square stage

The film spends much of its short running time close to the main stage. Performers appear in vivid costumes beneath changing blue, green and yellow lights, with the crowd gathered around the square. Seen from the side of the stage, the production feels less like a distant civic spectacle and more like a live London gathering.

The architecture remains part of every view. The National Gallery forms one backdrop; St Martin-in-the-Fields appears beyond the crowd; the fountains catch the stage lighting; and Nelson’s Column remains visible above the temporary structures.

Lanterns and the Festival of Lights

After dark, the illuminated installations become the film’s clearest symbols of Diwali. A large pink lotus glows against the night, while a brightly lit representation of Ganesha stands out beyond the performance area. Their colour and detail offer a quieter counterpoint to the movement and sound of the stage.

These moments also show why Trafalgar Square works so well as a setting for London’s public festivals. Temporary light, music and decoration can transform the space without disguising it. The familiar landmarks remain recognisable, but the atmosphere belongs entirely to the people gathered there that evening.

Trafalgar Square after dark

By the closing part of the film, the square has changed completely from the pale late-afternoon scene at the beginning. The audience is seen as a broad field of silhouettes and colour, the column is washed in pink light and the stage becomes the brightest point in the landscape.

The camera moves between wide views and closer performances before Barry leaves the square. There is no attempt to turn the visit into a complete guide to Diwali. Instead, it preserves the character of one particular London evening: civic, crowded, colourful and open to anyone passing through the centre of the city.

A film record from 2018

The event took place on 28 October 2018 and the original Roberts London video was published the following day. Preserved here with its original archive date, it records Trafalgar Square during a festival that placed light and performance at the centre of London’s public life.

Years later, the film remains valuable for its small details: the shift from daylight to night, the crowd reflected in the fountains, the stage seen from its edge and the illuminated objects encountered away from the main performance. Together they form a concise visual record of Diwali in London in 2018.