Diversity celebrated beneath wings of Knife Angel

A town currently playing host to the Knife Angel sculpture has come together to celebrate diversity.

Diverse Fest was held on Sunday in St George's Square in Luton and was organised to celebrate 25 years of community radio station Diverse FM.

Featuring multi-cultural performances and traditional dances, it was billed as a "celebration of unity".

Kamal Acharya, chair of the station and co-presenter, said: "Our aim is purely to bring the communities together... and Luton is one town where diversity thrives."

Luton is currently hosting the Knife Angel, a 27ft-tall sculpture made from 100,000 blades that acts as a memorial to young knife-crime victims.

It was created from knives seized by police and was made by the British Ironwork Centre.

Diverse FM helps people gain work experience at the station and as a charity it also helps up to 300 young people gain skills and qualifications.

Musthafa Hussain, the station's training manager, said: "It's a staple within the Luton community.

"We need to integrate everyone together. It's very important that we have all walks of life and everyone understands that we need to treat everyone equally fairly.

"It's not just young people, but it's a passion for them to learn something and they can move on later in life and teach the younger generation."

Diversity and inclusion is needed now, more than ever, said Mr Acharya.

"Our aim is purely to bring the communities together and see how we are celebrating together, and Diverse Fest is exactly that - bringing diversity together - and Luton is one town where diversity thrives."

The event was supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

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