Festival of Lights illuminates Perth

• The Perth metropolitan area hosted the largest Diwali celebrations yet 

Perth skies lit up for Western Australia’s biggest Diwali celebrations this year, including the first-ever display at Parliament House to mark the Indian Festival of Lights. 

Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness and good over evil, and is known for its fireworks, candles and sparkling lights.

Opening the Diwali display in the Aboriginal People’s Room at Parliament House today, Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister Mike Nahan wished WA’s Indian communities a very happy Diwali.

The State Government has supported various Diwali community events, estimated to have been attended by about 100,000 people across the State, with $165,000 in funding, through the Office of Multicultural Interests, Healthway and Lotterywest.

“Diwali celebrations are joyful family celebrations that attract large numbers of people from the State’s Indian and wider communities,” Dr Nahan said.

“It was a pleasure to co-host the bi-partisan Diwali display at Parliament with BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha to enhance our understanding of this Indian community festival.

“I was also pleased that Parliament House glowed orange on November 10 and 11 to mark the celebrations for the first time.  Diwali, like the Asian Lunar New Year, Eid and the Buddha’s Birthday, is an opportunity for people from the many different cultural backgrounds that make up our vibrant nation to get together and celebrate.”

The festival illuminated Forrest Chase in Perth on October 31, culminating with a major finale on November 14 at HBF Arena in Joondalup, organised by the Indian Society of WA.

The popular Swan Festival of Lights, run by the Temple of Fine Arts, Annalakshmi on the Swan and Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya, also drew large crowds to Perth’s Supreme Court Gardens from November 6 to 8.

Celebrations took place across the State, including in Bunbury and Geraldton.

“We are all West Australians with a rich and diverse heritage,” the Minister said.

“Diwali is another opportunity to embrace our fantastic cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.”