Windrush Day — 22 June — marks the anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush docking in Tilbury in 1948, bringing Afro-Caribbean immigrants to the United Kingdom.
Many of those passengers stayed in the UK, settling either in London or further afield, finding jobs, raising families and becoming part of their local communities.
More recently, the Windrush Scandal has dominated headlines (and continues to do so), with people who arrived on the Windrush and via other means being wrongly detained or deported, despite having the necessary rights to live in the UK. It was the Windrush Scandal which intensified the campaign for Windrush Day to be recognised, and the first official Windrush Day was held in 2018, to recognise the contributions made by migrants to UK society, as well as celebrating their heritage.
Here's where to celebrate Windrush Day 2025.
Hackney Windrush events 2025 (15-29 June)
A plethora of Windrush events takes place across Hackney borough from almost a week ahead of the big day itself — and for a week after, too. Learn how to grow scotch bonnet chillies at Allens Community Garden, sign up to movement classes with the Black Burlesque School, attend a screening as part of the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival, or head to Hackney Town Hall Square for a Windrush Day Market. All this and plenty more.
Hackney Windrush events, 15-29 June
Newham Windrush Day events (19 June-16 July)
The borough of Newham pulls out all the stops this year, with a flurry of events starting on 19 June. These include screenings of the film Turning Point, which pulls focus on the Black Caribbean experience after the First World War and the concept of 'freedom' (screened at various venues), kids' storytelling, and Reminiscence and Sharing sessions.
Newham Windrush Day events, 19 June-16 July
Haringay Windrush Day events (19 June-20 July)
A book club discussing Sam Selvon's Windrush classic The Lonely Londoners, kids' Windrush ship crafting sessions, the Blockorama Steel Pan Festival, a walking tour exploring over four centuries of Tottenham's Black history, and a Windrush chat and tea party are just some of the things happening across the borough of Haringay in the space of a month.
Haringay Windrush Day events, 19 June-20 July
Waltham Forest Windrush celebrations (19-22 June)
As far as we can work out, there's no full-blown Windrush Festival in Waltham Forest this year, but there is a handful of events, including craft workshops in libraries, and an afternoon of Windrush themed talks and music from the House of La Touche choir and historian Peter Ashan.
Waltham Forest Windrush celebrations, 19-22 June
Windrush Day 2025, National Maritime Museum (21 June)
As ever, Greenwich's National Maritime Museum goes all out for Windrush Day (or in this case the day before, 21 June) — with an action packed day of events at the museum, and in the grounds outside the Queen's House and National Maritime Museum. Events include board games with the Caribbean Social Forum, an actor playing Windrush voyager Pearl Morris, a model of the Almanzora with related talks (the ship arrived in England before the better-known Windrush), and a chance to explore objects relating to the Windrush era of travel from the Caribbean to the UK, led by the museum's curatorial team.
National Maritime Museum Windrush Day, 21 June, 11am-4pm, free
Windrush Homecoming Celebration, Kentish Town (22 June)
Ska and reggae, African and Caribbean crafts, sports activities for kids, and food and drink galore are on the docket for the Windrush Homecoming Celebration, taking place on Talacre Town Green in Kentish Town West on Windrush Day itself.
Windrush Homecoming Celebration, Kentish Town, 22 June, 12pm-7pm, free
The Windrush Generation Legacy Association, Croydon (ongoing)
No special events have been slated yet for this great community setup in Croydon's Whitgift Centre, but you are welcome to call in on Tuesday-Saturday to see 'Gaan a Farin', a recreation of a Windrush era front room, dining room, and bedroom. Also check out whatever temporary exhibition is on show, and chat to the friendly volunteers here.
The Windrush Generation Legacy Association, free
London, Sugar & Slavery @ London Museum Docklands (ongoing)
The permanent London, Sugar & Slavery exhibition always makes for a sobering visit: through haunting diagrams of slaves ships, the letters of Ignatious Sancho and antique sugar loaves, you'll learn how the capital played a damning role in the torture and deaths of some 15 million men, women and children — many who perished in the Caribbean.
London, Sugar & Slavery, London Museum Docklands, ongoing, free
Brixton's Black Cultural Archives (ongoing)
Aptly located on Windrush Square, the Black Cultural Archives (BCA) are home to a reading room, library and exhibition space, dedicated to collecting and recording the stories of African and Caribbean people in Britain. There are several books about the Windrush generation, and the archives also has copies of the 1948 Nationality Act, which gave all colonial subjects British citizenship, and subsequent Immigration Acts which attempted to remove this right. In 2021, the BCA teamed up with TfL to release a Black history Tube map, with each stop named after an important figure in Black British history.
BCA is open to the public, or you can explore many of its records online, as well as viewing digital exhibitions.
In 2023 we visited ahead of the launch of BCA's special Windrush exhibition, Over A Barrel: Windrush Children Tragedy and Triumph (see video above).
Have a Caribbean party in London
Busspepper events specialise in Caribbean parties in London, including regular Bacchanal Fridays inspired by the pre-carnival parties in Trinidad, with Soca music — an offshoot of the Calypso genre — a speciality. Brixton Jamm, Hoxton's Troy Bar and Hootananny Brixton are all ones to watch for regular reggae nights.
And then of course, there's carnival. Over the August bank holiday weekend, the streets of west London shake and jiggle with the sounds of mas, soca and calypso for Notting Hill Carnival.
