A unique setting, with the Atomium as your backdrop
Programme
Two days. All of India.
Music, dance, magic, food and fireworks. India's biggest celebration, open to everyone. Choose your day, or come for both.
Don't miss
The festival
What awaits you
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See
An avenue of lamps and colourful stalls with costumes and crafts from every region of India. Mesmerising dances from across the country. At 21:00 the sky above the Atomium comes alive with fireworks.
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Hear
A dhol you feel before you hear it. Ragas in the afternoon, Bollywood by night, five thousand voices singing along.
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Taste
Chaat the way Mumbai makes it, dosa from the South, jalebi still warm. Cooked by people who cook it at home.
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Drink
Masala chai poured from height, sweet lassi, cold beer along the esplanade.
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Feel
A hand-decorated temple at the foot of the Atomium. A puja for peace, a lamp you can light yourself. You do not need to know what to do. Nobody does the first time.
Tickets
Saturday, Sunday, or both
- Online €12 Until 23 October. Either day, or both.
- At the gate €15
- Children under 12 Free Event band required, add them to your booking.
No booking fees. One ticket, come Saturday or Sunday, or both.
Families
For the little ones
Children under 12 come free, with their own festival band. Workshops in rangoli, mehndi, dance and cooking are made for small hands too, and there is storytelling through the afternoon. The afternoon is the gentle time. Evenings are loud and the fireworks come at 21:00, so bring ear protection for the smallest ones. The esplanade is flat and buggies roll everywhere.
Light and tradition
Why the lamps are lit
Diwali is the festival of lights, and the lights are lit for a reason. Every year we build a small temple on the esplanade, a tent decorated by hand, and a purohit conducts a peace and harmony puja on both days.
Everyone is welcome, whatever they believe. You do not need to be Hindu, or to know what to do. You can stand and watch, and most people do.
The 2026 theme
Culture United
For the tenth edition we have invited European embassies and cultural institutes to celebrate alongside us. Each brings a tradition of its own and pairs it with an Indian one: a duet, a shared dish, a dance answered by another dance. An avenue of lamps runs the length of the esplanade, each stretch given to a participating country.
Stay in touch
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