Leicester Cathedral was the venue for a service commemorating the 40th anniversary of Asians ordered out of Idi Amin's Ugandan dictatorship finding a new home in the city.
Saturday's thanksgiving service was led by the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens, with Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles special guest of honour.
More than 28,000 people arrived in Britain from Uganda in 1972, with
7,000 choosing to settle in Leicester despite an advertising campaign warning them not to come to the city.
The service, however, celebrated their positive contribution to the city – in the fields of business, the professions, politics, arts and science.
Bishop Tim said: "It was a great pleasure that Leicester Cathedral was chosen as the venue to give thanks for the contribution of the Ugandan Asian community.
"The service recognised the importance of friendship and generosity, as shown both by those who came to our city 40 years ago under such desperate circumstances, and those who welcomed them to a strange land and opened their homes and hearts, in the best tradition of the faiths of this city."
