Preparations have reached the final stage for this year’s Newroz celebrations in Britain, which will be held between 21–30 March in many cities, particularly London, Edinburgh and Liverpool, under the leadership of the Kurdish People’s Assembly and its components.
This year’s Newroz celebrations, organized under the leadership of the Kurdish People’s Assembly, will take place under the slogan “Newroz’a yekîtî û azadîye (Newroz of Unity and Freedom),” with the message that “Kurdish national unity is not a slogan but a historical necessity.” Celebrations will be held in many cities, including London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Exeter. Preparations for the events have been completed. During the celebrations, attention will be drawn to democratic national unity as well as to the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.
Among the cities where Newroz celebrations will be held across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, London stands out as the main center. Preparations in London, which have been ongoing for nearly four months, have now been completed. Newroz posters have been hung in many workplaces, while people from Kurdistan and their friends are being invited to the celebrations through radio announcements and social media videos.
Kurdish organizations, international organizations, revolutionary left movements from Turkey and Kurdistan, civil society organizations and many British politicians have also been invited to the celebrations. Within the scope of the Newroz celebrations in Britain, the first Newroz fire was already lit in Brighton.
The main Newroz celebration in London will be held on 22 March at Finsbury Park. Artists Bahar, Aziz Waisi, Pınar Aydınlar, Gülseven Medar, Dilo Doxan, Memozan and Mervan Şan will perform on stage. Folklore groups accompanied by traditional drums and zurna (a traditional reed wind instrument) will also take part in the event. Kurdish politician Gültan Kışanak has been invited as the main speaker, and several British politicians are also expected to deliver speeches.
The Youth Newroz in London, where fires are traditionally lit each year and enthusiasm reaches its peak, will take place on the evening of 21 March at the Kurdish Community Centre (KCC) building under the slogan “Yekîtî û azadî (Unity and freedom).” Artists Berfin Aktay, Kewe, Mervan Şan and Ciwan Serhed will perform at the event. Preparations have been completed for lighting the fires, and participants will dance govend accompanied by traditional drums and zurna.
Newroz from Liverpool to Exeter
Preparations have also been completed in Liverpool, another key center of the Newroz celebrations in Britain. The Liverpool Newroz celebration, which will also see participation from Manchester and surrounding cities, will take place on Monday, 23 March at Grand Central Hall. Thousands of people from the four parts of Kurdistan are expected to attend the Liverpool Newroz celebration, where Dilo Doxan, Barham Shamami, DJ Halparke, Kewe and Koma Adar will perform. Govend Liverpool will also take the stage accompanied by traditional drums and the zurna.
In Exeter, located in the Devon region, this year’s Newroz celebration will take place on 24 March at the Corn Exchange. Artists Ibrahim Mira and Sipan Xelat, along with the children’s dance group Gowenda Zarokan, will perform at the event.
Scotland ready for Newroz
A mass Newroz celebration will also be held this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, as in previous years. The celebration will take place on 29 March in the area where the Kurdish Community Centre is located. Artists Hedayat Haghani, Omid Taaosi and Erol Berxwedan will perform on stage. During the celebration, where the Newroz fires will be lit, Erbaneye Denge Jinan will present a performance. A Newroz celebration will also be held on 30 March in Cardiff, Wales. Alongside local groups, international participants and Welsh politicians are expected to attend the event.
In addition to mass Newroz celebrations across Britain, Newroz receptions will also be organized with local administrations, and a traditional Newroz reception will take place in the British Parliament with the participation of people from Kurdistan. Within this framework, Newroz receptions will be organized by the municipalities of Hackney, Haringey, Enfield, Westminster, and Islington in London. As in previous years, a Newroz reception will also be held on 23 March in the House of Commons in the British Parliament, hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Let us raise the Newroz fire
Ishak Milani, a member of the Britain Newroz Organizing Committee and co-chair of the London Kurdish People’s Assembly, said that as the Britain Kurdish People’s Assembly they will welcome Newroz with the spirit and slogan of “national unity and freedom.” Milani stated that the celebrations will take place on 21 March with Youth Newroz at the Kurdish Community Centre, on 22 March with the central London Newroz, on 23 March in Liverpool, on 24 March in Exeter, on 29 March in Edinburgh and on 30 March in Wales. Milani also noted that Newroz receptions will be held in dozens of municipalities and parliaments and called on people from Kurdistan and their friends to raise the fire of Newroz together.
Milani said that Newroz has been celebrated with great enthusiasm by all Iranian peoples since the time of Kawa and added: “In the person of Mazlum Doğan and his followers Ronahi, Berivan and Rahşan, it symbolizes the rebirth of the Kurdish people like an ancient tree that blossoms in the spring. For this reason, we as people from Kurdistan living in Britain welcome Newroz with great excitement.”
Milani stated that despite great difficulties in Northern Kurdistan (Bakur), Southern Kurdistan (Başur), Rojava and Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat), the Kurdish people continue to express their democratic will and stressed that Kurdish national unity is not a slogan but a historical necessity.
Milani added that once again millions will raise their voices for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and said they will demand the recognition of the “right to hope” as part of a broader peace perspective for a real political and democratic solution to the Kurdish question.
Milani said that from Northern Kurdistan to Southern Kurdistan, from Rojava to Eastern Kurdistan, and across Europe and the rest of the world, the Newroz fire will be lit as one people. “Each flame represents our shared resistance, our shared hope and our shared future,” he said. “As the Britain Kurdish People’s Assembly, we dedicate this Newroz to the struggle for unity, democracy and freedom in all parts of Kurdistan and in the diaspora.”
Mazlum Rojava, speaking on behalf of the Britain Revolutionary Youth Movement, also called on all Kurdish youth to light together the fire of rebirth, resistance and freedom of Newroz.
Britain 2026 Newroz program
London
Date: Sunday, 22 March
Time: 11:30
Location: Finsbury Park
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London youth Newroz
Date: Saturday, 21 March
Time: 18:00
Location: London Kurdish Community Centre
Liverpool
Date: Monday, 23 March
Time: 17:00
Location: Grand Central Hall
Edinburgh
Date: Sunday, 29 March
Time: 12:30
Location: Edinburgh Kurdish Community Centre
Exeter
Date: Tuesday, 24 March
Time: 18:00
Location: Exeter Corn Exchange
Cardiff
Date: Monday, 30 March
Time: 18:00
Location: City Centre
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