The Big Iftar invites non-Muslims to break Ramadan fast with Muslim hosts in mosques, churches, town halls, and parks. Ramadan 2025 marked the movement's widest geographic spread yet: established cities scaled up while at least four new host cities — Newcastle, Sheffield, Plymouth, and Norwich — held inaugural Big Iftar events coordinated by local mosques and interfaith councils.
2025 expansion highlights
In London, the Mayor's Ramadan iftar at City Hall seated 400 guests including diplomats and NHS leaders. Birmingham's 'Iftar in the Park' returned to Cannon Hill Park with an estimated 3,500 attendees over one weekend. Edinburgh Central Mosque hosted Scottish Parliament members alongside Church of Scotland ministers. Newcastle's first Big Iftar at the Tyneside Islamic Centre drew 180 guests — mostly university staff and medical students who had never visited a mosque.
Why cities join
New host cities cited the same motivations: repair community fractures after contentious news cycles, welcome refugees, and normalise mosque buildings as public assets. Plymouth's 2025 iftar was held in a mosque hall overlooking the harbour; the imam's welcome speech noted that many guests' ancestors arrived by sea while today's refugees arrive by different routes but share the same need for welcome.
- Sheffield: joint mosque–cathedral iftar with shared catering by both congregations
- Norwich: UEA Islamic Society and local mosque fed 120 guests in the mosque garden
- Leeds: Big Iftar street stall on Brudenell Road for students and neighbours
- Online hybrid iftars: livestreams for rural Muslims far from mosque events
O mankind, We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes so that you may know one another.
Big Iftar 2025 confirmed a simple metric: every new city that tries it once usually books again. The meal ends, but the invitation list becomes an annual civic calendar entry — dates, rice, and dignitaries included.