This year we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival with a song and words performance by the East-West Gala Chorus, a group of non-professional singers who come together to share their passion for music.
Mid-Autumnal Festival coincides with the autumn equinox, when the day and night are of almost equal length and the moon is bright and full, and is celebrated in many cultures across eastern Asia. It is often best known for the mooncakes (circular decorated pastries with a sweet filling) that appear in shops and bakeries, including in London’s Chinatown.
This special lunar event is also celebrated in other countries across the globe, from Europe, to Israel, to India, and our Mid-Autumn concert sought to reflect how the autumn equinox is marked across different cultures. Songs were performed in English, Mandarin, Russian and other languages, with readings from countries from across the world.