A COLOURFUL and vibrant festival could take over a Southend park as a “celebration of the bond between mankind”.

Southend Council has received an event permit application for Hindu festival Holi – also known as the “Festival of Colour” –which is often celebrated by covering participants in bright paint.

If approved, the festival will be held in Southchurch Hall Gardens on March 15 next year to mark the arrival of spring.

Although the event is primarily a Hindu cultural festival, the application states “it is embraced by everyone to celebrate the bond between mankind”.

To celebrate the festival, the streets are turned colourful with powdered organic paint thrown, and plenty of cheerful dancing.

Matt Dent, Labour councillor responsible for business, culture, and tourism, reacted excitedly to the news of the application. He said: “I would definitely welcome it.

“Holi is a very vibrant, and very fun event. I think bringing that to Southend would be not only great for the Hindu community here, but good for everyone else who can see it and participant in what is a fantastic tradition that many wouldn’t have seen or experienced before.”

Holi is celebrated worldwide and is one of the grandest and most popular celebrations among Hindu people in the UK.

The application comes after a successful Sierra Leone Family Fun Day last weekend, where hundreds of Southend residents united to celebrate as a community.

Mr Dent added: “It shows Southend is welcoming and celebrating of all cultures, and that is the message we want to send out that we are a welcoming community.

“We want everyone to be able to come here and enjoy the city, whilst at the same time embracing the increased diversity of Southend and the country as a good thing. This is also expanding the number of things going on in Southend.”

The application is looking to host the event in Southchurch Hall Gardens on 15 March 2025, between 10:30am and 3pm.