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Sheffield’s Migration Matters Festival returns this summer with a bold new theme, a new director and a line-up celebrating the global communities that have helped shape the city.
Taking place from June 19–27, the award-winning arts festival will mark its 11th year with the theme Forged By Migration - a nod to Sheffield’s industrial identity and its long history as a place shaped by people arriving, settling, creating and contributing from around the world.
Headliners include MOBO Award-winning Ghanaian-English artist Fuse ODG, Live at the Apollo comedian Desiree Burch, legendary dub producer Aba Shanti-I, and Afghan footballer and activist Khalida Popal, founder of Girl Power.
The programme also features the critically acclaimed theatre show The Horse of Jenin by Alaa Shehada, which explores the removal of a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and a screening of the Oscar-nominated Bosnian war drama Quo Vadis, Aida?
For new festival director John Rwothomack, who takes over from founder and now producer Sam Holland, this year marks both a continuation and a new chapter. “Forged By Migration is a way to celebrate the diversity of Sheffield today but also recognise the people who have been coming to and shaping the city for generations,” he said.
“It’s a play on words, symbolising what Sheffield stands for and how it is now a City of Sanctuary for so many people.
“Our line-up this year is a carefully curated collection of unapologetically fierce and present headliners, as well as many fantastic Sheffield artists.
“Together we will dance, laugh, eat and celebrate, but we will also not forget the painful history and truths that have made the world what it is today.”
Migration Matters Festival is the largest Refugee Week event of its kind, attracting audiences of more than 15,000 people each year. Since it was founded in 2016, the festival has reached around 101,600 audience members in Sheffield, the UK’s first City of Sanctuary, and has presented more than 1,434 artists representing 170 countries.
This year’s full programme includes club nights, art exhibitions, family theatre, poetry, Afro-Brazilian dance workshops and more.
A major new addition for 2026 is the festival’s first outdoor stage, the Forged By Migration Stage, created in collaboration with Kelham Island Museum. The free event will spotlight Sheffield artists across music, DJ sets, dance, exhibitions, international food, workshops and a special museum tour on Saturday, June 27.
The festival’s 2026 guest programmer is Nate Coltrane, an amazing artist whose work explores the impact of immigration on UK culture through Caribbean sound system heritage, while amplifying voices from the Windrush generation.
Ugandan-born and Sheffield-bred, Rwothomack said the festival’s next era would build on a decade of growth. “After ten years of incredible growth from a single-event festival, 2026 marks the start of a new era for Migration Matters,” he said.
“We have a hugely exciting year ahead, and we can’t wait to welcome even more people to our energetic, powerful celebration of sanctuary.”
Migration Matters operates an ethical ticketing system, providing free tickets to financially vulnerable people. Over the past decade, more than 21,393 free festival tickets have been provided to community members.
Tickets, including festival passes, are available now HERE
The festival is funded by Arts Council England, Sheffield City Council, The Brelms Trust and the Evan Cornish Foundation.
