On Thursday 13 April, the Grand Iftar will be held on College Green, celebrating the month of Ramadan with Bristol’s diverse community.
First started in 2017, the annual Grand Iftar on St Mark’s Road is held by local Muslim communities. Building on its success, the Grand Iftar on College Green is the first city-wide Iftar, providing additional space to reach an even wider audience.
The event is an opportunity to celebrate Bristol’s diversity, as an inclusive, multicultural, multifaith city, with non-Muslims joining the celebrations to experience the breaking of the fast (Iftar).
People are invited to come together, enjoy the hospitality of the Muslim communities, share food, and learn more about each other, and the significance of Ramadan and the Iftar meal for Muslims.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, drink and intimacy for 30 days, devoting their time to prayers. The period also commemorates the revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH).
The unifying theme of this year’s Iftar events is sanctuary, to encourage people to reflect on current world events and to celebrate Bristol’s role as a City of Sanctuary, which we have held since 2011.
In 2017, after the Manchester Arena bombing, the theme was community cohesion, as a way of promoting peace and unity. Other themes have included sustainability and women in Islam.
The Grand Iftar on College Green will take place on Thursday 13 April from 7pm to 8.30pm. There will be speakers, prayer and music. Participants will share a meal together seated on carpets which will be laid out facing City Hall. A variety of food will be served, including vegetarian options, desserts and soft drinks.
The event is free, fully accessible and open to everyone. However, due to restrictions on numbers the event on College Green is ticketed. Tickets are available here and they must be shown at the entrance to the event area upon arrival. People can arrive from 6.45pm.
We encourage people who are attending the event to walk or to use public transport, such as a local bus or train service, to reduce any impact on the environment and promote sustainable, active travel.
The Grand Iftar event on College Green is led by Muslims for Bristol in partnership with Bridges for Communities and supported by Bristol Cathedral, together with other partners.
The Grand Iftar on College Green is being delivered as one of the activities under the City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme, funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority’s Love our High Streets project.
We will share the link for the Eventbrite, once it becomes available. For further info, please email Afzal Shah or Mohammed El Sharif, at grandiftarbristol@gmail.com