Festival of Debate

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]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  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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