Unsuspecting Londoners are about to be deluged in a flood of mangoes as part of the Vaisakhi festival that opens on Sunday in the British capital.

The event is supported by Punjabi Mandal, Sony TV and the popular Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who will be chief guest next week at an event organised by the Indian Journalists Association.

Some 20,000 boxes of Alphonsos have been flown to London and will be distributed free, either as part of mango milk shakes, or else as cut fruit displayed in stalls that have been set up on Trafalgar Square in the shadow of Nelson’s Column.

Visiting ministers from Maharashtra will help formally inaugurate the festival at 11.30 am before the distribution of the mangoes starts at 12 noon.

“This is the first mango festival of this scale to be held in London,” explains festival director Sheena Bhattessa. “Maharashtra wants to push the fruits and things that come out of Maharashtra, other than Bollywood.”

The Maharashtra Government is planning to hold a much bigger event next year on the South Bank of the Thames. So, Sunday’s festival is seen a bit of a dress rehearsal to get the ball rolling.

Apart from state government ministers, other invited personalities include chef Sanjeev Kapoor, film art director Nitin Desai and choreographer Shiamak Davar. Desai is the creator of the 20-ft-high elephants that will be on display at Trafalgar Square.

On Monday, the elephants will be taken to the NRI-dominated city of Leicester where they will be part of a different fair. The elephants have proved so popular even before their arrival that they were bought in advance by a local football team in Leicester which believes they could be symbols or mascots of good luck for future games.

A spokesperson for the festival told The Tribune, “With an anticipated footfall of 20,000 people, we will distribute mango fruit and delicacies at this event and touch the heart of Londoners.

“Alphonso has always been a pride-of-India product. The Alphonso from Kokan is of the highest quality and is cherished across the world. The Kokan Bhumi Pratishtahan is proud to be associated with the showcasing of the Alphonso at a global platform in London.”