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.
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Adam said: “We’ve handed out over 3,000 flyers and are expecting a big turnout. It’s going to be an amazing event. We have traditional dancers as well as British artists, and the University of Manchester’s K-pop society are coming.
“There’ll be information booths for people who need information about employment and education also, and there’ll also be bubble tea. Manchester is an open arms, relatable and personable city.
“We are going to give the best welcome we can and show people that they are welcome here and that this is an incredible place to live. Seeing people get excited about the event on social media has really encouraged us and we know it’s going to be a great day.”
The event is one of a series of eight Friendship Festivals across the UK over May and June. The UKHK project, founded by Dr Krish Kandiah, is a partnership across organisations including Welcome Churches, COCM, OMF and others.
They have recently received funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to run events and activities to help welcome those arriving from Hong Kong. Dr Kandiah said, “Thousands of people have experienced huge changes and challenges as they have navigated moving 6,000 miles across the world to start a new life.
"Our hope is that we can really showcase the ‘best of British’ in our welcome of all those arriving in our communities, no matter what the reason they have come to the UK. Through meeting local people at these festivals, we hope Hong Kong arrivals will feel more confident in asking for help, accessing services and being able to rely on British friends to provide support and community.
"We want to celebrate the coming together of cultures, and build friendship between BN(O) holders arriving and locals living in the same city. We want every Hong Kong arrival (and those still in Hong Kong thinking of moving over) to know that they are welcome, and that they can call this country their home.”
Every child that attends the family-friendly event will also receive a book written especially for children from Hong Kong, to help them adjust to life and culture in the UK. Manchester’s Friendship Festival will take place at Audacious Church on Trinity Way on Saturday, May 28, from 11am.
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