Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions Melas or village fairs were (and in some cases still are) of great importance. This led to their export around the world by south Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries. The Kumbh Mela, held every twelve years, at Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain is one of the largest fairs in India, where over 60 million people gathered in January 2001 , making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world.

In modern usage outside South Asia it has become a term that shows widespread diversity of interpretation, just as has been the case in South Asia. One can find a Nepalese Mela in the USA or a Bengali Mela in London. For many it is a wider intercultural (though mainly Asian) festival incorporating music, dance, food and other aspects of mainstream culture. Since the 1980s an increasing number of Melas have regularly been held in larger towns outside south Asia, especially in the UK and North America. The larger Melas tend to be those with larger ethnic minority populations, but many Melas are held in communities with small South Asian diasporas. Community ownership of these Melas is important to the south Asian communities who see them as opportunities to share their cultural heritage with the mainstream. They are opportunities for bridge building and community building and can perform a strong socially cohesive function. More successful outside-of-Asia Melas tend to have a strongly diversified funding base with private/public/third sector collaboration. Public money is often spent on the Melas. This reflects the Mela organisers and public authorities joint conviction that, as in the sub-continent, Melas are for everyone.

Cardiff's first and only large scale outdoor Mela initially was launched, organised and managed by a voluntary committee in 2006. In 2010, we incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee (without share capital) and as of 2019, we are a Private Limited Company Limited by Shares. A board of directors along with a committee of community members make up the organisational team. For on the day event logistics, a local event management company is contracted to meet the needs of this large scale outdoor event. The event itself has now been running successfully and has grown steadily into Wales' largest single day multicultural event attracting 30,000+ visitors in 2010.

Also, this free event was part funded by Cardiff City Council and the Arts Council in Wales as well as partners including O2, BBC Asian Network, South Wales Police, South Wales Fire & Rescue Services and many more in the past.

The Founder, Artistic Director and Event Coordinator of the Cardiff Mela is Mr. Imran Iqbal; Finance Director is Mr. Ataf Salim and head of volunteers each year is Dr. Aamir Sheikh.

Below are details of previous year Cardiff Mela locations and headline performers:

o 2006 - Roath Park, Cardiff - Local Performers

o 2007 - Coopers Field, Cardiff City Centre - Sona Family

o 2008 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Labh Janjua / Imran Khan

o 2009 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - H Dhami / Mumzy / Navin Kundra

o 2010 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Bombay Rockers / Imran Khan

o 2011 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Stereo Nation / PBN / Mumzy / Jernade Miah

o 2012 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Jassi Sidhu / H Dhami / Imran Khan / Apache Indian / Nafees

o 2013 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Jaz Dhami / Juggy D

o 2014 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Lehmber Hussainpuri / Team PBN / Ajay / Bonafide

o 2015-2018 - MELA CANCELLED DUE TO NON AVAILABILITY OF VENUE / FUNDING

o 2019 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - H Dhami / Koomz / Bambi Bains / Jay Kadn

o 2020-2021 - MELA CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19

o 2022 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Raf Saperra / Liilz / DJ Kizzi / Metz & Trix / Panjabi Hit Squad / Serena / Smash Bengali

o 2023 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Raghav / Rahim Pardesi / Haroon Rashid

o 2024 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - Ezu / H Dhami / Arma / Munraj / Navin Kundra / Jernade Miah

o 2025 - Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay - TO BE CONFIRMED