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The Sheffield culture guide written by in-the-know locals

Crossed Wires Festival

Thu. 2 July 2026 — Sun. 5 July 2026

Ticket prices vary

Sheffield's Crossed Wires Festival brings some of the UK's top names in podcasting from your headphones to the stage for one weekend.

The festival returns for its third – and biggest – year in July 2026.

Expect another incredible lineup of live podcast recordings across comedy, current affairs, culture and more, at venues including Sheffield City Hall and the Crucible. Plus food pop-ups, after parties and fringe events.

Led by creative director Greg James, the first names announced for Crossed Wires 2026 are:

  • Dig It with Jo Whiley & Zoe Ball
  • How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
  • The Blindboy Podcast
  • If I Speak with Ash Sarkar & Moya Lothian McLean
  • Get A Grip with Angela Scanlon & Vicky Pattison
  • Bold Politics with Zack Polanski
  • Sara & Cardiad's Weirdos Book Club
  • Nick Cope's Family Show
  • Story Shed
  • The Screen Rot Podcast

The BBC Sounds stage will bring the BBC’s signature storytelling and household names to the old Cole Brothers building, for free. And new for 2026, BBC Radio 4 will take over the Montgomery.

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Off the Shelf

Sheffield's festival of books, words and ideas, taking place each October. Come back soon for our highlights from the writer talks, workshops and events in the 2026 programme.

Chance To Dance

One big, free day of music and movement in four outdoor stages around the city centre. With over 30 dance groups performing and lots of chances to join in. Held each July – come back soon for details of Chance to Dance 2026.

Festival of Debate

Get informed, inspired and filled with ideas for positive change. With talks on big social, political, environmental and economic issues. The festival is taking a break in 2026 – come back for details of the 2027 event.

In Conversation: George Shaw & David Alston

Thu. 26 March 2026

Yorkshire Artspace: Persistence Works

Join George Shaw and David Alston for a conversation on George’s current exhibition Small Returns. Reflecting on George’s work and his time at Sheffield Polytechnic in the late 1980s.