Luton Mela wins top prize at the UK Bhangra Awards

A TOP cultural event which takes place right here in our town has been recognised as the best of its kind in the UK.

Luton Mela, sponsored by Luton on Sunday, took away the best Mela award from the UK Bhangra Awards, 2015, held in Birmingham over the weekend.

Luton Mela has been running since 2000, and expresses the music, culture and artistic diversity of Southern Asia, featuring feature a mix of music, food, and information as well as all the fun of the fair.

Some of our town’s top talent is showcased at this event, and the organisers were thrilled that they beat out the competition and took the top spot this year.

Furhaad Ahmed from Luton Mela said: “There was some stiff competition, as we were against four other mela’s, including London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester, but we managed to secure the win.

“We have people coming from all over the country and even areas of Europe for our annual event so we knew we were something special, but to win this is just amazing.

“The overall win was the decision from the public vote, so this makes it even better as it is the people who enjoy your mela who voted us as the one to win.”

And their win could not have come at a better time, as this most recent festival was their 15^th anniversary

Furhaad said: “This was a really great year for us to win, as we have been going for 15 years and it is great to see what we do be recognised.

“Now the pressure is certainly on to ensure that next year’s event is even better and we continue to be the best Mela this country has.”

To keep up to date with their plans for 2016’s Mela, visit lutonmela.co.uk