- Windsor Castle’s St George’s Hall Hosts 360+ Guests For First Ever Open Iftar of 2025
- Ramadan Festival Programme To Feature Open Iftar Events in 12 UK Cities at Iconic Landmarks and Historic Venues Across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Trafalgar Square Set to Host Grand Finale Open Iftar Event on 29 March 2025
- Ramadan Run Club Returns for 5K Run Routes Through London
- Fast A Day Back For Second Year With City of London Corporation Partnership
LONDON, 3 MARCH 2025—Ramadan Tent Project (RTP) has marked the start of Ramadan 2025 with the first ever Open Iftar held inside Windsor Castle’s State Apartments, in the Castle’s 1,000-year history. St. George’s Hall, world renowned for hosting state banquets, welcomed over 360 guests of all backgrounds to mark the first Open Iftar event of 2025 organised by the award-winning charity, Ramadan Tent Project in collaboration with Royal Collection Trust, the charity that welcomes visitors to the official royal residences. It is the first event of its kind to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan inside the State Apartments at the world’s largest and oldest occupied castle in the world, and the first iftar gathering held in the Hall, which was constructed in the 14th century during the reign of King Edward III.
Open Iftar Returns
The annual Ramadan Festival is organised by the award-winning charity Ramadan Tent Project and features a collection of artistic, cultural, creative events to inspire and engage diverse audiences, in addition to the UK’s largest community event series in Ramadan, Open Iftar.
Open Iftar has brought together over one million people across the UK and sees some of Britain’s most well-known venues open their doors to visitors from all faiths and none, to foster community, inclusivity and cultural exchange during Ramadan. The series of Open Iftar events will once again be hosted in iconic venues across the country. This year the holy month of Ramadan runs between late February and throughout March 2025, with Ramadan Tent Project’s Open Iftars falling on Fridays and weekends. You can view the full list of dates and register for tickets here.
Open Iftars have been confirmed at the following locations:
King’s College Cambridge
Baltic Newcastle Gateshead
Sheffield Kelham Island Museum
V&A Dundee
Cardiff City Stadium
Brighton & Hove Albion FC
Aston Villa FC
AFC Wimbledon
Lord’s Cricket Ground in partnership with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
Shakespeare’s Globe
Shepherd’s Bush Market
The MyLahore Glass Marquee, Blackburn
V&A South Kensington
Guildhall City of London
One City Park Bradford
Trafalgar Square
Omar Salha, Founder and CEO of Ramadan Tent Project said:
“Breaking our fast and marking the holy month of Ramadan at Windsor Castle, one of the most famous and iconic royal landmarks in the world, is an incredibly surreal and poignant moment to share with people of all faiths and none. It serves as a powerful reminder of how proud we are to represent a pillar of Britain’s rich cultural ecology celebrating community, belonging and inclusion. It is an honour to be welcomed back to host Open Iftar at some of Britain’s most iconic and loved venues. To receive overwhelming interest from new partners and spaces across the capital and the UK is a beautiful tribute to Ramadan.
Ramadan holds profound significance for millions observing across the UK and many more across the globe. It is a time of deep introspection, reflection, and self-discipline where we connect and engage in worship with family and friends through acts of service and charity. We are incredibly grateful to our partners, sponsors, and volunteers for supporting the work of Ramadan Tent Project in turning strangers into friends.
For over a decade, Ramadan Tent Project has connected and convened over 1 million people through the UK’s annual Ramadan Festival. We are excited to welcome people of all faiths and none, with a focus on this year’s Ramadan Festival 2025 theme of ‘Connection’ which seeks to connect more hearts and minds, weaving a tapestry of belonging and connection towards a more harmonious society. We look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors, from all backgrounds across our Open Iftar events and throughout our Ramadan Festival 2025 programmes across London and the UK.”
Simon Maples, Visitor Operations Director (London and Windsor) at Royal Collection Trust said:
“After the success of hosting our first Open Iftar event last year in the Castle’s Learning Centre, we were delighted to be able to work with Ramadan Tent Project again this year. Even more excitingly, this year we are hosting the event in St George’s Hall, the largest of the Castle’s magnificent State Apartments, where State Banquets usually take place – meaning that we can welcome more than 350 guests to share an Iftar meal together in this historic setting.
The event has been a fantastic opportunity to welcome people from the local community and those of all faiths and backgrounds to the Castle, in support of Royal Collection Trust’s charitable aim to ensure that the Palaces and the Royal Collection can be enjoyed by everyone. It has been a team effort from colleagues across the Castle, working closely with Ramadan Tent Project, to deliver such an amazing event.”
Ramadan Run Club Welcomes Participants The annual Ramadan Festival will also feature Ramadan Run Club, fostering a safe space for runners seeking physical activity during the holy month. Welcoming participants from diverse faith backgrounds and non-faiths, Ramadan Run Club facilitates connections among runners of all levels, building a healthy, mindful, and spiritually fit community. Runners will meet at a Central London location and run the 5km route to the evening’s Open Iftar location. Updates of routes and registrations are posted on the Ramadan Tent Project social media channels @ramadantentproject.
Bilal Hussain of Ramadan Run Club said: “It’s a common misconception that you need to stop physical exercise during Ramadan, or that dehydration while fasting prevents you from being active. However, we’re proving with our Ramadan Run Club that it is possible to keep moving during the month.
“Ramadan Tent Project is all about turning strangers into friends and we love seeing that happen while we explore different parts of London with our Ramadan Run Club community. With support from Vita Coco, Sunna Supplements, EverGive, MyFridays, we look forward to a diverse crowd of runners of all levels joining in as we run a 5km loop that finishes at the evening’s Open Iftar location.” Fast A Day Back For Second Year With City of London Corporation Partnership Following the success of its pilot programme, Fast A Day, encourages businesses, corporates, executives, staff, and the wider business network to host a small iftar gathering on their premises, raising awareness about Ramadan and join in fasting a day during the holy month. In 2025, the City of London Corporation will partner with Ramadan Tent Project to allow participants to experience the magic of Open Iftar in an office setting within the Square Mile.
—ENDS—
For further enquiries, media accreditation and interviews, please contact S&S Strategic Communications media@ramadantentproject.com / sehr@sands.london
For images of the event and enquiries about Windsor Castle and Royal Collection Trust, please contact the Royal Collection Trust Press Office at press@rct.uk or +44 (0)20 78391377
Instagram @openiftar @ramadantentproject Twitter X @ramadantent @openiftar
Tik Tok: @RamadanTentProject
YouTube: @ramadantentproject
LinkedIn: @ramadantentproject
Website: https://www.ramadantentproject.com/
Subscribe to newsletter
About Ramadan Tent Project
Ramadan Tent Project is a multi-award- winning charity established in 2013 with a mission to bring communities together and to further develop the understanding of Ramadan. Ramadan Tent Project organises the annual Ramadan Festival, which is a collection of artistic, cultural, creative events to inspire and engage audiences from all backgrounds, in addition to the UK’s largest community event in Ramadan, Open Iftar.
About Open Iftar
Open Iftar is Ramadan Tent Project’s flagship initiative and the UK’s largest community event in Ramadan. Open Iftar invites people from all walks of life and is open to people of all faiths and none to increase community harmony, belonging, softening hearts and minds, and turning strangers into friends. ‘Iftar’ is the meal that is prepared and offered to Muslims observing Ramadan when breaking their fast from sunrise to sunset. Since 2013, Open Iftar has connected over one-million people from across the globe including first of its kind events at some of Britain’s most loved & iconic cultural spaces, from Windsor Castle to the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Stadium, the V&A and Trafalgar Square, to events at the Baltic Museum, Bradford’s Centenary Square, Coventry Cathedral and many more.
Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces. We bring our shared history to life through world-class experiences that involve and inspire people, wherever they are. Income from tickets and retail sales helps us to conserve the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.
The Royal Collection is one of the world’s great art collections, held in trust by The King for his successors and the nation. With over a million objects, from paintings, drawings and books to sculpture, furniture and jewellery, it is a unique record of the tastes of British kings and queens over the past 500 years, with many items still used today for their original purpose. The Collection can be seen in palaces, museums and galleries across the UK and around the world, and can be explored online at www.rct.uk.
