There’s always something crazy happening in London. Last weekend, in the concrete sea of Battersea Park, thousands of people clad in white gathered to turn themselves into rainbows.
The event was inspired by the religious festival Holi, where Hindus gather together in February/March to celebrate the coming of spring and throw masses of coloured powder at each other. The festival at Battersea exported the idea of coloured powder, cast aside the relgious motivations, then added alcohol, a stage and DJs for good measure. The result? A great big messy party!
Thousands of clean-clothed people gathered to Battersea to attend the festival.
It didn’t take long for the powder to be unleashed!
Every hour festival goers were encouraged to throw their powder en-mass. As they did, clouds of colour blocked out the sunlight, and participants were caked from head to toe in layers of powder.
Rainbowed people emerged from the aftermath.
And as the dust settled, the party continued…
When the day drew to a close the underground became populated with a colourful array of people!
Lost in the Midlands 
I sat watching this from the balcony of a nearby pub on saturday! Very jealous you got to go. Absolutely incredible pictures – really impressive.
You must have had a great view! And thank you so much :)
Wow, these are some amazing and inspiring images. I woke up on the wrong side of the kitchen this morning (I mean, I did stumble out of bed, and I was just fine at that point, but then I ran in to some teenager shenanigans and BAM! my day just went to hell in a bucket!) Your post was just what I needed to get my day back on track!
Thank you so much!! It makes me very happy to hear that it helped you get back on track – hope that it continued that way :)
That looks amazing, really well captured photos as well. x
Makes me miss London… A teeny bit
Great photos! When I visited India and was very disappointed to miss Holi – I didn’t know it was celebrated in the UK as well.
What stunning pictures! I would absolutely love to experience a Holi One festival – looks like you had an absolute blast :)
Thank you :) It was definitely a blast! Apparently it will be an annual even in London (and other places across the UK and world) , so make sure you come next time! :)
Being from India, I know and understand the fun during Holi very well. Photographs have come up really well, colors and people look full of life :-)
It reminds me HOLI (Festival of Colours) in India.
Reblogged this on leleshen2013.
WOW great photos!! I hope you had fun!
Ellie from http://howtodoprettymucheverything.wordpress.com/
Awesome photos! Tell you the truth, your version of Holi is what I would prefer to celebrate compared to what we do in India. Holi is supposed to be a festival of colors and that is exactly what I see in these pictures, the colors are beautifully accentuated in each image.
I don’t know what we do in India anymore, it kind of gets rough, you know, some idiots throwing eggs and rotten tomatoes… It gets disgusting and is not even related to colors!! LOL
Anyways, love the images! :)
That’s very interesting… It would seem that we glamourise the Indian way of doing things a little. Does it perhaps depend on what region you are in to what people do?
Very much so… and not just regions, also on what kind of event…
When it is just me and my family it is a small celebration with the morning pooja, and applying just a dab of color on each others, cheeks…
Or in a neighborhood, when multiple families join together and celebrate involving a bit more of getting drenched, I know my dad turns into a kid and dumps buckets of colored water on unsuspecting victims…
Or the modern version, where clubbers head to an open air rave in the morning, with DJ’s blaring dance music and colors flying everywhere, and people soaking wet, so horribly discolored, you cannot tell them apart… :)
Overall the outcome of it all (except for the first scenario (just my family)) is that people get a strange baboon-like appearance with red ears, red faces, red arms…
When I was a kid, my mum used to rub a ton of oil all over my body on Holi morning in order to prevent the color from sticking :)
One other thing I remember doing is cutting out the bottom of a large plastic carry bag (the ones you get in the grocery stores), and wearing them as vests under our shirts.. LOL :P
I guess you had to go bat shit crazy to have some holi fun… :P
These are amazing photos of what looks like an awesomely fun day!
I once witnessed the after-math of a colour-festival party (in South Africa) and can honestly say that I would love to attend one… one day.
Thank you, it was so much fun!!! You must go one day :)
Wow! How did those folk get out of those places alive? I think I’ll stick with my family holiday snaps in Devon.
Yes we did – just! Personally I had an hour train journey back to Buckinghamshire and got quite a few quizzical looks..
I’m doing a “Color Run” this weekend. I’m a little disappointed now, though. The run doesn’t include booze like the festival…
Haha! Probably much healthier though :)
great pictures!!!!
indian community is huge in england. but i didn’t know they celebrate it too in london. wow, kinda a mess colourful party out there and would love to witness it one day when i come to london again!
I have experienced a full-fledged Holi celebration in India and trust me, things get very wild, just like this here
This is pretty amazing
Fabulous photos and colors! I wish I was there :-)
Loved this!!!!
Looks fun!
Here in Sacramento, California we did the “ColorRun” on August 3rd. It didn’t include alcohol but it did include a 5K run. We ran clad in all white and even added white tutus! It was a great deal of fun.
I love your pictures. They capture the fun, the light and the color so wonderfully. I’ll bet you had as much fun during your color celebration as we did at ours!
That looks like so much fun!!
That looks like so much fun!
Love this! Beautiful photos!
Cool pictures! The Color Run debuts in Singapore this weekend, and we can’t wait!
Any tips of camera protection?
I put mine inside a clear bag (with holes for the lens and straps) then taped it up like crazy! It worked remarkably well; the lens was spotless, the camera had a fine layer of powder in places.. Hope you have fun :)
These photos are fantastic!
Reblogged this on andrewchanning.
Wonderful images – love the randomness of how color lands and blends.
I like these photos just like HOLI FEVSTIVAL IN INDIA
Y S APPA RAO
I did the Color Run in Indianapolis, IN USA last month!! SUCH a fun time!
Wow! Holi in london!!
Amazing pics :)
I love those pictures ,they’re so colorful!
This was the perfect post to thumb through in my lunch break. Made me happy! Thanks :)
You are most welcome – glad you liked them! :)
Wow! Great pictures you have there. May I know what model of camera you are using? My friend had bought a Nikon (I forgot the model & spec etc), looked professional used camera. But the pics did not come so good as yours.
Thank you! I have a Canon 5D mark3, with a 24-70 2.8 L lens. It’s an absolutely fantastic combination – it rarely lets me down :)
Yes, i absolutely agree with you. I brows through some of your pics Cobbled lanes and sweeping sands, they are really professional, artistic, and capture the true feeling as if i was there :D thumbs up and keep it up!
So much color! And nice photographs you’ve got here! Really love how vibrant every photo looks. :)
Colors of LIFE. Beautiful colors.. beautiful people… beautiful pictures. Shouldn’t this what life be about all over the world? Fun, laughter, color and joy? Thanks for sharing.
I recently visited a similar event in Germany. Being an Indian I feel proud to see people all over the world relishing this beautiful Holi festival. I loved your photos. Thanks a lot for sharing them.
Reblogged this on hannahclarkedesigns and commented:
so wish i had of gone here. Brilliant inspiration for my theme xo
haha I as in London and saw lots of people covered in paint, wish I knew this was on, looks sweet!
Top photos dude. My friend told me about this after I saw a pic of him covered in colour too. I may well have to check it out next year!
I have always wanted to go to one of these color parties! Thank you for more of an in depth look I wish I had been there great photos!
this all reminds me of the color run
I did something like this at my college! So much fun, right?!
Gorgeous and amazing pictures!
Reblogged this on beatnikhiway and commented:
cool
Awesome!