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]

Contents

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

DateNumber of eventsNotable speakersPartners and sponsorsNotes
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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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. 1 2 3 4 Magazine, Exposed (5 March 2018). "Festival of Debate announces 2018 programme". Exposed Magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Festival of Debate Launched: Sheffield festival announces over 60 events". Now Then Sheffield. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "Festival of Debate announces 2021 programme with over 40 live-streamed events". Now Then Sheffield. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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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