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Festival of Debate

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The Festival of Debate is an annual politics festival in England which takes place between May and June across South Yorkshire, but mostly focused in Sheffield. Founded in 2015,[1] organisers say its aim is to "bring people together to share new ideas and lived experience that can help shape our understanding of the world."[2] It is the largest non-partisan politics festival in the UK.[3]

Previous guests have included former leaders of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn[3] and Ed Miliband,[4] writer Afua Hirsch,[5] feminist author Gloria Steinem,[3] civil liberties campaigner Shami Chakrabarti,[3] former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis,[4] author and broadcaster Sathnam Sanghera,[6] environmental journalist George Monbiot,[5] composer Brian Eno[2] and writer Armando Iannucci.[3]

The festival was founded in 2015 in the lead-up to that year's UK general election.[1] It is hosted by Opus Independents, a Sheffield-based "not-for-profit independent social enterprise organisation working in culture, politics and the arts".[1] Organisers said the initial aim of the festival was to "engage an increasingly apathetic population with politics".[7]

List of events

[edit]
Date Number of events Notable speakers Partners and sponsors Notes
2015 David Blunkett, Matthew Parris[8]
2016 Jonathan Bartley[9]
2017[10] Paul Blomfield,[11] Peter Tatchell[12]
2018 (18 April – 29 June)[7] More than 75[4] Ed Miliband, Ruby Tandoh, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Francesca Martinez, Yanis Varoufakis,[4][13] Lowkey,[14] Natalie Bennett, Helen Pankhurst[7]
2019 (19 April to 1 June)[1] More than 60[5] George Monbiot, Ash Sarkar, Roger McGough, Afua Hirsch, Shahmir Sanni, James O'Brien,[5] Paul Mason, The Guilty Feminist[1] The University of Sheffield, Museums Sheffield and Sheffield Theatres[1] After appearing at the 2019 Festival of Debate, James O'Brien said: "A former EDL member said my show saved his life"[15]
2021 (May and June) Over 40[6] Yanis Varoufakis, David Lammy, Maya Goodfellow, Sathnam Sanghera, John McDonnell, Natalie Bennett, David Blunkett, Peter Geoghegan[6]
2022 (19 April – 31 May)[16] 60 events[3] Jeremy Corbyn, Armando Iannucci, Shon Faye, Gloria Steinem, Shami Chakrabarti,[3] Led by Donkeys, David Wengrow, Ece Temelkuran,[16] Magid Magid[17]
2023 (12 April – 26 May) More than 60[2] Gary Younge, Brian Eno, General Levy[2]
2024 (16 April – 25 May) More than 60[18] Hollie McNish, Sathnam Sanghera, James O'Brien, Grace Blakeley, Marianna Spring, Sir Michael Marmot, Jackie Kay, George Monbiot,[18][19] Terrence Higgins Trust[20] At the 2024 festival, Sathnam Sanghera predicted that the OBE would be renamed the 'Order of British Excellence' "within five years"[21]

Sir Michael Marmot said that London's financial power is masking the UK's status as a "poor country"[22]

2025 (22 April – 30 May) 2025 will be the tenth year of the festival, and organisers say it will focus on "systemic change and alternative futures"[23]
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Huddleston, Yvette (12 April 2019). "As Sheffield's Festival of Debate returns for a fourth year Joe Kriss talks about the importance of open discussion". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Williams, Molly (11 April 2023). "Festival of Debate returns to Sheffield with packed lineup covering climate, democracy and inequality". The Star. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Wilkinson, Alex (21 March 2022). "UK's biggest politics festival coming to Sheffield – featuring former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn". The Star. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Magazine, Exposed (5 March 2018). "Festival of Debate announces 2018 programme". Exposed Magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Festival of Debate Launched: Sheffield festival announces over 60 events". Now Then Sheffield. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Festival of Debate announces 2021 programme with over 40 live-streamed events". Now Then Sheffield. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Huddleston, Yvette (20 March 2018). "Why Sheffield's Festival of Debate is proof that it's good to talk". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Parliament to hold event in Sheffield on political journalism". UK Parliament. 19 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Green leader to take part in Sheffield debate festival". The Star. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  10. ^ "BBC Radio Sheffield – Paulette Edwards, Festival of Debate". BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Knocking on doors, debating asylum, speaking on Brexit & the environment -; some of my week ahead". Paul Blomfield. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Issue 109, April 2017". Now Then Sheffield. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  13. ^ Sykes, Ed (1 May 2018). "Ahead of the local elections, Yanis Varoufakis points out a major flaw in Britain's system". Canary. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  14. ^ Topple, Steve (25 May 2018). "Rapper-turned-activist Lowkey is in a new media 'club'. Here's how you can join in". Canary. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  15. ^ Iqbal, Nosheen; @nosheeniqbal (9 June 2019). "James O'Brien: 'A former EDL member said my show saved his life'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ a b Burn, Chris (14 March 2022). "Jeremy Corbyn, Armando Iannucci and Jackie Weaver to appear at Sheffield Festival of Debate". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  17. ^ Burn, Chris (12 May 2022). "Magid Magid to chair Sheffield Festival of Debate discussion with Jeremy Corbyn". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Festival of Debate – We've just revealed the blockbuster line-up for this year's Festival of Debate". Now Then Sheffield. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  19. ^ Harrison, Harry (9 March 2024). "Festival of Debate: LBC's James O'Brien headlines UK's biggest politics festival in its return to Sheffield". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  20. ^ Xu, Rose (21 April 2024). "A new dawn in HIV prevention: Terrence Higgins Trust's vision in Sheffield's Festival of Debate". The Star. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  21. ^ Burn, Chris (11 June 2024). "OBEs should be renamed to change 'Empire' to 'Excellence', suggests Sathnam Sanghera". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  22. ^ Burn, Chris (28 June 2024). "London's big earners masking reality of UK's 'poor country' status, says Sir Michael Marmot". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  23. ^ "We want to hear your ideas for the return of Festival of Debate in 2025". Now Then Sheffield. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
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