Diwali at Leicester Square (London)

Diwali at Leicester Square promises a grand festival but delivers a 3-hour event with a single small stage and food stalls that sell out by 5 PM. The light switch-on ceremony uses only 200 bulbs, a fraction of the 5,000 used in typical Indian Diwali celebrations. Attendance tops 10,000, but 40% of visitors leave unsatisfied, according to a 2023 survey. It costs 20% more than a standard London street fair, yet offers 30% fewer attractions. This event is a pale imitation of authentic Diwali, ranking 5th compared to #5 Thanksgiving Day Parade for sheer anticlimax.