This weekend, Manchester will become one of the first cities in Britain to host a ‘Friendship Festival, welcoming arrivals from Hong Kong, who have moved to the UK as part of the government's British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme. The festival will take place at Audacious Church on Trinity Way on the edge of the city centre on Saturday, May 28 and is expected to attract up to 1,000 visitors from across the community.
Organised by charity UKHK, in partnership with many churches, the festival will be attended by several church leaders and special guests. As well as offering up a variety of British and Hong Kong food, the festival will also feature stalls, music and activities for children including traditional Chinese writing, dragon boat folding and face painting.
One of the event organisers is Adam Riley, who said he wanted to show how Manchester is an ‘open arms and personable’ city. Adam and his wife, Jaesoon, regularly open up their home to new arrivals to make them feel welcome and oversee the East Asian community at Audacious Church.
