Thank you, Melbourne

Namaste, and happy Diwali.

On Saturday 31 October, more than 20,000 of you filled Marvel Stadium Square. You came from every part of Melbourne, you stayed into the evening, and you made it a Diwali to remember. Thank you.

Thank you to the 85 community groups and 25 dance groups who rehearsed for months and gave us a stage full of colour. To the 250 and more volunteers who built the Square in the morning and packed it away at night. To the young MCs who held the main stage all day. To our stallholders, our partners, and the students who photographed, filmed and ran the day alongside us.

And thank you to the leaders who joined us. Leaders from all sides of politics, the Deputy Ambassador of Israel and leaders of many faiths stood on one stage and lit one lamp. That is Melbourne at its best: a global city with a global vision and local action.

This is your festival. Everything in this issue, the film, the photos, the winners and the certificates, is yours to keep and to share.

Thank you, Melbourne. We will see you next year.

Photos: Paul Dontschuk and Liza Ding (Collarts Media Team), with Iris (Collarts), Team Harsha and MelbourneMachha.

Congratulations to our winners

The Teens prize presentation, presented by Guardian Vaults.

Our judges were Nithya Remesan, Neethu Yuseph and Sachin Vijayachandran.

Thank you to every group, teacher and family who made it to the stage.

A certificate for everyone who made the day

Every performer, volunteer, stallholder, partner and member of our media team is receiving a thank-you certificate by email this week, co-signed by the Premier of Victoria, the Hon Ben Carroll MP.

Our placed groups and their dancers have a certificate for their placing too. Each certificate has its own page on our website, ready to download, print and share.

Prizes on the main stage

Our partners also gave away prizes on the main stage. Congratulations to every winner, and thank you to the partners who gave them.

Leaders who celebrated with you

Thank you to every guest who came to the Square, met families and shared the stage with our community, among them actor Vishwajeet Pradhan, Philip Zajac, President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Cr Rafael Camillo of the City of Melbourne and Cr Chaman Tiwari of the City of Whittlesea.

Lighting the lamp together

“Diwali does tell us something very important. It is light over darkness, but more than that, it's making sure that we celebrate our beautiful communities coming together. Victoria's secret sauce is our diversity. It is our multiculturalism.” The Hon Ben Carroll MP Premier of Victoria

“During Diwali, we talk about it, we celebrate it, but what Melbourne Diwali is, is living it. It's breathing it. It's doing it.” David Southwick MP Deputy Leader of the Opposition

“Delhi is the capital of India, but Melbourne is the Indian capital of Australia.” Nicholas Reece Lord Mayor of Melbourne

Happy Diwali

From all of us at Melbourne Diwali: may the light you shared at the Square stay with you and your family all year.

Melbourne Diwali is held in Docklands on the traditional Country of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to and custodianship of this Country.

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Melbourne Diwali is managed by SarasCare. To find out more, visit melbournediwali.com.au.