Blacktown’s Diwali Lights Competition turns 10

Drive through Blacktown in Diwali week and the streets start telling stories. Characters from the Indian epics such as Ramayana stand in front of gardens. Rangolis spread across driveways. Whole facades vanish under strings of light, glitters and colours.

This is the 10th year of the Blacktown City Diwali Lights Competition, and the displays have never been bolder. For a festival about light triumphing over darkness, and hope for the future, it is a fitting milestone. The judges marked it with an honour never awarded before.

 

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A first: Champion of Champions

The inaugural Champion of Champions title went to Jitesh Kumar of Wilcox Street, Marsden Park.

“Since this contest began, it’s the first time they have awarded anyone Champion of Champions,” Jitesh told Indian Link. “They decided based on our previous years’ performances as well as this year’s.”

In 2022, Jitesh and his wife Roopam were joint winners with a full Ram Darbar in their driveway. This year’s display brought Mount Kailash, Ashok Vatika (from Ramayana) and other scenes from Indian epics to Wilcox Street.

The lights came from India, from Bunnings, and from China, where Jitesh’s daughter found unusual lighting elements such as butterfly lights that had fluttering effect, on a trip. The last of them were picked up from China just five days before Diwali. Every connection runs through secure, waterproof electrical boxes, keeping visitors safe.

His favourite moment came from a stranger: a South African woman visiting Sydney who was so overwhelmed by the lights that she hugged him, took photos and videos, and promised to share them with friends in South Africa’s Indian community.

Asked whether the new title brings pressure for next year, Jitesh is unruffled. “God will pave the way,” he said, “as he always has, all these years.”

Family effort takes top prize

The overall winners, the Punia family of Sundew Parade, Marsden Park, know just how much the festival gets people talking. Sandeep Punia, who placed second back in 2022, said it was common for him to be talking to visitors admiring the display until 1am.

The whole family pitches in. “We make a lot of the decorations ourselves,” he said. “My son and daughter all help put up the lights and place things. My wife does the design and I do the manufacturing. But she is the brains behind it.”

The 2026 winners

Ten years of lights

Blacktown City Mayor Brad Bunting and the judging team visited many homes across the city and came away amazed by the creativity and effort on show.

“The imagination and spirit of the displays continues to impress each year,” the Mayor said. “Most importantly, our Diwali celebration brings people together and starts conversations within our community.”

Councillor Moninder Singh started the competition after he was elected to council in 2016.

“Since then, the community response has been tremendous,” he said. “People take pride in displaying rich Indian culture, and take pride when they win the prize as well.”

He singled out Phantom Street in Nirimba Fields, this year’s Best Street, for taking Diwali lighting to the next level. Every house on the street takes part, displaying Ramayana characters with QR codes that give visitors more information. 

Ten years in, the competition has done more than hand out prizes. It has made Diwali a festival the whole street shares. The calendar now has two seasons of lights. Families who once saved their ladders and extension cords for December are pulling them out in October too, and neighbours of every background are learning to time their evening drives by the Diwali dates. 

Diwali is slowly earning the place in Blacktown’s year that Christmas lights have long held.

Read Also: A sense of connection: Celebrating Diwali away from home