Ten days of Ganpati
Ganesh Chaturthi 2026
Ganpati comes home for up to ten days and leaves in a procession. Abroad the public celebrations are open to everyone, and the food is the reason to go.
- Ganesh Chaturthi 2026
- 14–24 September 2026
Ganesh Chaturthi events near you
What Ganesh Chaturthi is
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates the birth of Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Families and associations install a clay idol, offer modak and aarti for one, five, seven or ten days, and end with visarjan — carrying the idol to water. In Maharashtra it is the festival of the year; abroad it has become a shared one, because the public celebrations are open to all.
Visarjan is done symbolically or at a designated spot in most European countries, since waterways are protected; the final day, Anant Chaturdashi, is when the largest processions happen.
Ganesh Chaturthi in Belgium
Antwerp’s festival is the oldest, held at a school in the city over a weekend; Leuven’s runs on Blauwputplein; the Mahaganesh Utsav near Zaventem brings a darshan of the Dagdusheth Ganpati form and a cultural programme.
Ganesh Chaturthi in the Netherlands
Eindhoven’s Ganeshotsav fills the Muziekgebouw; Amstelveen and The Hague have their own mandals, and the Hindustani temples keep the puja for the full ten days.
If it is your first one abroad
- Go for the evening aarti — it is the moment the hall is fullest and the singing loudest.
- Modak and prasad are free; a donation box is usually by the idol.
Previous Ganesh Chaturthi events
Most of these return every year with the same organisers.
Questions people ask
- When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2026?
- 14 September 2026, with Anant Chaturdashi (visarjan) on 24 September. Community celebrations are held on the two weekends inside that window.
Other festivals
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Organising something?
Post it from the app under Events, wherever you are. It is free, a moderator checks it, and it appears here and to every member nearby. Running several a year? Email hello@namaste.community for a listing invite.