{"id":118150,"date":"2026-05-28T19:48:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=118150"},"modified":"2026-05-28T23:42:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:42:41","slug":"118150","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=118150","title":{"rendered":"Festival of Chariots, 57 years celebrating on the streets of London"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The famous Rathayatra \u2018Festival of Chariots\u2019 returned to London on Sunday, 24 May 2026, infusing the city with a vibrant display of Indian culture and spirituality. <\/p>\n

More than 10,000 participants\u2014including festival goers, pilgrims, and religious leaders from across the globe\u2014gathered along Park Lane in London to pull three impressive, 40-foot-tall chariots. These brightly decorated vehicles carried the revered deities Lord Jagannatha, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Balarama<\/strong> all the way to Trafalgar Square.  <\/p>\n

Even with soaring temperatures, central London was alive with vivid hues, the sound of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, exuberant dancing, and festive energy as Europe\u2019s largest Rathayatra procession journeyed through the heart of the city. Rathayatra, also known as the Festival of Chariots, originated over 5,000 years ago in Jagannatha Puri, Orissa, India, and is often considered the oldest street festival in the world. Many devotees view pulling the ropes of Lord Jagannath\u2019s chariot as a meaningful act of devotion that brings blessings. The festival was brought to Western audiences by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada<\/strong> , who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The first Rathayatra outside India took place in San Francisco in 1967, followed by London\u2019s first procession in 1969. Now celebrating its 57th year in London, the festival continues to bring together people from different backgrounds through shared faith, culture, and joyful festivities.   A celebration for all<\/strong> At Trafalgar Square, visitors enjoyed a cultural festival, including kirtan (mantra meditation) classical Odissi dance performances, educational exhibitions and literature displays. Over 16,000 plates of free vegetarian food (prashad) were distributed.  <\/p>\n

The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency Kumaran Periasamy<\/strong> , attended the festival. He offered flowers to the murti of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, had darshan of Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra, and addressed the crowd.  <\/p>\n

Titikshu Das<\/strong> , Co-ordinator of London Rathayatra Festival of Chariots said, \u201cRathayatra is a gift for the people of London from the Hare Krishna movement. Despite the hot weather, thousands of people attended from all over the UK and Europe. a joyous street party, which will be held all over the UK throughout the Summer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Praghosa Das<\/strong> , Governing Body Commissioner, ISKCON UK, said, \u201cFrom Park Lane to Trafalgar Square, Lord Jagannath\u2019s festival goers rode a wave of spiritual ecstacy unique to Ratha Yatra. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an incredible day of singing, dancing and feasting under the clear blue skies of London, where smiles were in abundance and joy unparalleled. As the Rath carts began to roll away to rest until they appear again in Nottingham in a couple of week\u2019s time, the unanimous view of the participants was \u2014 roll on next year for another London blockbuster!\u201d <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.asian-voice.com\/Volumes\/2026\/30-May-2026\/Festival-of-Chariots,-57-years-celebrating-on-the-streets-of-London<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"\n  The famous Rathayatra \u2018Festival of Chariots\u2019 returned to London on Sunday, 24 May 2026, infusing the city with a vibrant display of Indian culture and spirituality. More than 10,000 participants\u2014including festival goers, pilgrims, and religious leaders from across the globe\u2014gathered along Park Lane in London to pull three impressive, 40-foot-tall chariots. These brightly decorated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-testing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=118150"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118154,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118150\/revisions\/118154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=118150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=118150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=118150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}