Celebrate Songkran, Thailand's New Year Festival In London

In Thailand, the New Year is celebrated during a festival called Songkran, which this year falls between 13 and 16 April. The traditions associated with the event include parades and religious ceremonies with a finale that involves water-throwing fights where the aim is to drench your friends and family, signifying the washing away of the previous year!

In London you’ll be able to witness some of the festivities over in Covent Garden, or by visiting one of the Thai restaurants across the capital where the Tottenham-based Thai Dance Academy will be performing. Formed in 2000, this 40-strong group gets together every Sunday – their Creative Director, Khun Poranee Johnson, had this to say about the festivities this year:

Following the success of last year’s Songkran activity, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Chang Beer again to promote Thai culture here in the UK, where Songkran is still relatively unknown. We hope to make this year’s events even more memorable than the last and can’t wait to see the public’s reaction.

In Covent Garden, Songkran will be celebrated in St Martins Courtyard over both Friday and Saturday, 12 and 13 April. As well as seeing the dancers perform you’ll be able to visit a Bangkok-inspired street market to sample Thai food, witness water fights, pop into a Tuk Tuk-based bar or do some Thai fruit carving. There’s also an opportunity to win a holiday for two in Thailand – visit between 12pm and 8pm to get involved.

The performances by the Thai Dance Academy in London’s restaurants are taking place on the following schedule:

Thai Rice, Portobello Road – Friday, 12 April at 8:30pm
Thai Rice, Brooke Green – Friday 12 April at 8:30pm
Suda, Covent Garden – Tuesday 16 April at 7:30pm
Suksaran, Wimbledon – Friday 19 April at 8pm
Black Orchid, Muswell Hill – Saturday 20 April at 7pm

This year’s activities are supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and by Chang Beer, the Thai brand that’s available at all of the participating venues and other Thai restaurants across London. To find out more about everything that’s taking place, you can follow these Twitter and Facebook accounts. If you want to share images that you capture during the events on Instagram, just use the hashtag #songkranlondon