Oldham gets ready for Eid in the Park with famous appearance

Well-known Oldhamers will be in attendance at the event, which will be at Berries Field Park.

Oldham MP Jim McMahon is tipped to attend the event, as well as local celebrity Salt Bahi.

The event is organised by SK Foundation and will likely take place on Wednesday, June 28, but could take place on Thursday, June 29 – with a specific date set to be confirmed about a week before the event.

Non-Muslims are also welcome to attend the event.

Following the Jama’ah, or Eid prayer congregation, stalls, rides and more will open in the park, continuing into the evening.

The event will start with a sermon at 9am, followed by prayer at 9.30am. From 10 to 10.30am there will be a speech, after which rides and stalls will open, with the event scheduled to finish at 5pm.

Extra rides are set to be on offer, with organisers still waiting to hear about bumper cars. Bouncy castles and soft play areas will also be at the event.

Similar events have been held elsewhere in the country, with Eid prayer traditionally taking place outside.

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While Eid al-Adha is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date in the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year, based on the observation of a new moon by religious authorities.

This is because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, based on the moon cycles, whereas the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar, based on the sun.

The Eid al-Fitr Eid in the Park event, which was due to take place on April 21, was cancelled due to a bad weather forecast.

It would have been the first occurrence of the event.

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Hamid Ali, who has helped organise the event, lives nearby to Berries Field Park, having grown up in the area.

Hamid Ali standing in Berries Field Park earlier this year (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

Speak to The Oldham Times, Hamid said: “Everyone’s looking forward to it. It’s looking like it’s going to be a great gathering of the community.

“People were asking if we’d do it again after the cancellation, but we said we’ll come back bigger, hopefully better.

“We’ve worked really hard to make sure everything is done, everything is complete.”

Hamid added: “The main thing is to unite everyone together.

“We’re ready after the disappointment of April, the community’s been waiting, we aim to deliver, to meet expectations, and we’re looking forward to it and as far as the noise that we’re hearing from the community is, the community’s waiting for it.

“We’ve got more rides, we’ve got stalls, and we’re looking to have a great event.”