Friendship Festival celebrates Lunar New year and offers warm welcome to those choosing to build a new life in the UK.
Warwickshire County Council is supporting the first Friendship Festival, offering a VIP celebration to welcome arrivals from Hong Kong. Around 140,000 people from Hong Kong have arrived in the UK following the introduction of British Nationals Overseas (BNO) visa scheme offered by the UK Government in January 2021.
The event, centred around the Lunar New Year festivities, will celebrate the coming together of cultures and draw in on traditions, food, and fun activities that many would usually enjoy when back home in Hong Kong.
The West Midlands event has capacity to welcome 3,000 people and will be hosted at CBS Arena on February 23, 2023, at 11am and finishing at 3pm. Local authority figures will be in attendance, as well as churches, musicians, and other organisations. The event will feature a range of different stalls, music, children’s entertainment, along with British and Hong Kong cuisine, and it is hoped arrivals will feel the welcome from the breadth of the West Midlands.
Bonnie, who is a BNO Coordinator, moved from Hong Kong to the UK with her family in the 1990’s to attend university. She now lives in Coventry and works to deliver BNO services in her area which is the first local authority to offer services of this kind. She said:
“There were not many migrants from Hong Kong in the past, and I often was the only ethnic Chinese person in the workplace. Now I see an increasing number of people who have arrived on the BNO visa scheme and now work in various industries or volunteering in charities; they make a significant contribution to the UK economy.
“I am so excited for the Friendship Festival. It is a great opportunity for the BNO residents to share their culture with local people. It is probably the only place in the UK where I can see so many new residents from Hong Kong. I hope to see everyone on February 23, 2023.”
Organised by UKHK, a project of the charity Welcome Churches, and in partnership with many local churches, the festival aims to build local friendships, and encourage Hong Kong arrivals to feel more confident in asking for help and accessing the services they may need. Friendship Festivals held in localities across Britain over the last year have welcomed over 7000.
This event is one in a series of nine Friendship Festivals across the UK over January, February and March. Partially funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, these events and activities are part of a national effort to help welcome those arriving from Hong Kong.
Emily Shepherd, joint CEO of Welcome Churches, says, “Thousands of people from Hong Kong have made a hugely difficult decision to move themselves and their families to the UK on the BN(O) visa route. We want these Friendship Festivals to be a place where Hong Kongers can come together, share their challenges and experiences together, make new friends and experience a true welcome from their local communities. UKHK exists to ensure every new arrival from Hong Kong has the support and connections they need to build a life here in the UK. Our hope is that every Hong Kong arrival - and those still in Hong Kong thinking of moving over - will be welcomed, make friends, and know that they can call this country their home.”
Cllr Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care & Health, said: “Warwickshire has always been a county that celebrates and welcomes diversity. This event is an opportunity not only for Hong Kongers to come together, but also for all of us to get to know more about the culture, the traditions of our new friends.”
In addition, every child attending the family-friendly event will receive an exclusive book entitled "Welcome to the UK", written especially for children from Hong Kong and help them adjust to life and culture here in the UK.
For more information on the West Midlands festival, please visit ukhk.org/friendship-festivals /