From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
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]
External links
References
^
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 .
^
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 .
^
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 .
^
a
b
c
d Magazine, Exposed (5 March 2018).
"Festival of Debate announces 2018 programme" . Exposed Magazine . Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^
a
b
c
d
"Festival of Debate Launched: Sheffield festival announces over 60 events" . Now Then Sheffield . 10 March 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^
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 .
^
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 .
^
"Parliament to hold event in Sheffield on political journalism" . UK Parliament . 19 February 2015.
^
"Green leader to take part in Sheffield debate festival" . The Star . 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^
"BBC Radio Sheffield – Paulette Edwards, Festival of Debate" . BBC . Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^
"Knocking on doors, debating asylum, speaking on Brexit & the environment -; some of my week ahead" . Paul Blomfield . Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^
"Issue 109, April 2017" . Now Then Sheffield . 1 April 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^
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 .
^ Burn, Chris (12 May 2022).
"Magid Magid to chair Sheffield Festival of Debate discussion with Jeremy Corbyn" . The Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 22 February 2024 .
^
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 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 . {{
cite news }}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link )
^ Burn, Chris (11 June 2024).
"OBEs should be renamed to change 'Empire' to 'Excellence', suggests Sathnam Sanghera" . The Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 12 June 2024 . {{
cite news }}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link )
^ 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 . {{
cite news }}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link )