A London council is launching a festival designed to help combat the “fear and hate” spread by far-right activists.
Tower Hamlets Council said it will host functions celebrating east London’s diversity and rich history of migration following recent protests in the capital, including the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally led by Tommy Robinson last week.
The town hall will be unveiling two plaques – one in English and one in Bengali – at a ceremony on Saturday at 2pm to mark the renovation of the former Royal London Hospital.
The Grade II-listed building was bought by the council in 2013 and transformed into its headquarters after serving as a hospital since 1757.
It comes after comments by ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe and tech billionaire Elon Musk about bilingual signs positioned outside Tube stations in the borough.
Earlier this year, Mr Lowe posted an image of Whitechapel Tube station on X with the caption: “This is London - the station name should be in English and English only.”
Mr Musk replied to the post in agreement with the independent MP’s sentiment.
Tower Hamlets is home to the largest British-Bengali population in the UK.
A council spokesman said the borough has a “proud history of standing up to racism, from the Battle of Cable Street to preventing the EDL from marching through East London to uniting today against current attempts by the far right to stir up division and prejudice”.
Mayor of the borough, Lutfur Rahman, added: "It was deeply disturbing to see the far right marching through the streets of London last weekend, spreading fear and hate, as well repeated recent attempts by the far right to bring their supporters into Tower Hamlets to intimidate members of our community.
"It reminds me of what it was like growing up, when racist abuse was part of our daily life. We fought hard to change that and to build a more fair, equal and inclusive society. I never thought we would see racists so emboldened once again.”
Food, music, and art are all expected to be showcased across the weekend and celebrations will include live performances from community members.
The council is also relaunching the Brick Lane Curry Festival after a nine-year hiatus. It is set to take place from Friday to Sunday and will include a programme of dancers, DJs, floats, celebrity chef appearances, and specialty dishes.
