Teams from all over the UK descended on the Telford Cultural and Leisure Centre in Hadley for the first ever UK-wide Gidda contest. A team from Derby, “Addi Tappa”, emerged victorious.

Councillor Amrik Jhawar, the mayor of Telford and Wrekin, was the chief guest and handed the prizes to the winning team and to all those who participated in the competition.

One member of each team was also selected as the gidhna de Rani (folk dancing Queen).

The event was covered by three UK Indian TV stations and national Indian newspapers.

It was organised by Mokesh and Sunita Mehmi, the owner of Prem’s Wedding Decorations, in Wellington.

In a joint statement, they said, “It was unbelievable. The atmosphere was electric. All the ladies had come dressed in traditional Punjabi dresses oozing in bright rainbow colours and they were just full of life. Every ticket was sold out and because they were all so good, picking the ultimate winner was the hardest job.”

Mokesh and Sunita said they wanted to thank all those who attended the event and in particular the two hostesses and five judges, and their other team members Taro Kaur and Hardeep Baglee.

Trophies were sponsored by Julies Conveniences Store in Hadley.