THE organiser of a new festival in Swindon hopes it could become the town's very own Glastonbury.

The African Accord Union is putting on the Multi-Cultural Festival, to celebrate the diverse population.

On Saturday June 29, Faringdon Park will be home to activities and stalls, each representing the different nationalities and cultural groups making up Swindon.

Simon Oghojafor, the president of the AAU and one of the festival organisers, said: “The idea is to bring the different communities of Swindon together to celebrate the diversity of our town.

“What we are really looking to do is to start a festival that really identifies as Swindon.

“If you look at other areas of the south west, there is Glastonbury Festival for example, and we want to do the same sort of thing for our town,” he added.

The afternoon runs from 12pm to 9pm. Planned activities include face painting, henna hair braiding, live music, dancing, arts, and a bouncy castle, as well as food from around the world.

“We want this will be an afternoon for everyone in our town,” said Mr Oghojafor.

“We have sent invitations to, for example, local care homes because we really want this festival to be something that everyone in Swindon can identify with and enjoy,” he added.

If the afternoon goes well, this event may well become a regular fixture on Swindon’s annual event calendar.

Entry into the park will be £1 for adults, while children will be able to get in for free. Organisers are hoping to attract 5,000 people.

The festival will raise money to support charities and projects to help combat obesity.

“Obesity is a major problem now in our culture,” said Mr Oghojafor.

“So many health issues and problems can be related back to obesity.

“So we wanted to do something that would also be helping to tackle this important issue,” he added.

The AAU is looking to the local community for help in putting on the festival.

“As this is the first event, we will need a bit of support from the local community,” added Mr Oghojafor.

The organisation are specifically asking for additional stallholders to take part in the festival. Stalls are being offered for £80 to prospective vendors.

Anyone interested providing a stall for this year’s festival should contact Simon on 07415890977.