A recreation ground was a burst of colour as Eastleigh’s Mela got underway.

The annual event at Leigh Road Recreation Ground returned on Sunday, much to the delight of residents. 

For Ralph Maingo, 57 and Christine, 73, from Chandler's Ford this was their first time at the cultural extravaganza.

Ralph said: “We had gone to the Southampton Mela, and we realised that this one was the following week so I knew we had to come.

"We had curiosity about what it was like to see what was going on and to try some tasty food.

“I am really enjoying it, I love the music so far, I liked the drummers earlier, they were playing really well earlier.

"We don’t really know much about Asian culture so these kinds of events are really good because it teaches you more about other cultures.

“The appeal is to bring everyone together, to get everyone here and it’s nice to see how many different races and cultures there are mixing all together, it’s really good.”

(Image: Newsquest)

The event was organised by the Eastleigh Asian Welfare and Cultural Association, working together with the Eastleigh Gurka and Nepalese Association and Unity 101.

Music performances were on display by Global Beats and MC Coco P, among others.

READ MORE: Thousands turn out for Southampton Mela 2024

This brought dozens of people to the town centre to enjoy the cultural activities and performances as well as a range of mouth-watering food.

There were also exciting activities for all ages, including climbing wall, circus skills and martial arts.

Councillor Dave Pragnell, Lord Mayor of Eastleigh said: “It’s wonderful to see how many ethnic and diverse communities all coming together and this is how we should be living, we’re all the same people.

“It’s the chance to meet and experience other people’s community and their particular traditional foods.

"You have just seen the Chinese dances on the stage and it’s not the kind of thing you normally see and it’s utterly amazing to be able to showcase what they do in their community.”

He added: “This tells me that there’s a general camaraderie in Eastleigh between the various faiths and nationalities.

"I think we’re coming of us, it’s no longer about them and us, it’s we. We are all Eastleigh and that is good.”