Six Young Poets Selected to Open Latitude Festival’s 20th Anniversary Edition

Six young poets from across the East of England have been selected to open the 20th Latitude Festival, showcasing the power of poetry and young creative voices on one of the UK's most celebrated cultural stages.
on Jun 24, 2026

A total of six young poets from the East of England region have been selected through an entry into the regional poetry contest organized by the BBC and Latitude Festival to open the 20th edition of the popular Latitude Festival.

The joint venture between BBC and Latitude Festival encouraged children in the age range of seven to eleven years old from the eastern region of England to come up with original poems themed on the topic “generations.”

Each of the six final contestants selected from various BBC local radio regions is set to read his/her poem live on stage at the prestigious Waterfront Stage at Henham Park in Suffolk, England, in July.

Children's Voices Being Celebrated

There were contributions from children living in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk counties. Judges commented on the originality, emotive power, and creativity evident in the participants’ work.

In fact, poet and one of the judges Luke Wright observed the effect of the contributions, saying that there were some very powerful poems that showed skills of storytelling far more advanced than one would expect from primary school children.

Poems chosen addressed various issues, including family customs and adoption, technology, music, friendship and intergenerational memories.

Poetry from Various Perspectives

In the group of finalists, there were children who expressed themselves in a creative way concerning the theme.

There was one poem that talked about the development of telephones in generations of people – child, parent, and grandparent. There was also a poem describing the development of music preferences through generations, from the older ones to Generation Alpha.

Other poems included family ties, adoption, story-telling, and important family heirlooms. One of the finalists wrote a poem about the family piano that connected the relatives in different generations, whereas another one was inspired by the seven ages of man written by Shakespeare.

All these poems give an idea of how children perceive the world around them and their relationships.

Platform for Developing Artists

For years, Latitude Festival has distinguished itself by embracing literature, poetry, and spoken word in addition to its musical offerings. The founder of the Festival, Melvin Benn, once noted that the competition was a good reminder about the need to provide platforms for developing artists.

Poetry has always been part of the Latitude Festival, and the inclusion of young poets helps further the overall mission of celebrating artistic talent across all generations.

Getting a chance to read poetry live on stage at what is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious festivals of British culture becomes a memorable experience for the finalists of the competition, and may encourage many of them to keep writing in the future.

The Need to Support Young Writers

It is clear from the success of this competition that there is a need to continue promoting creative writing programmes among the young generation. Through poetry, the young get a chance to explore their feelings and ideas, and build self-confidence through writing.

In today’s digital era, programmes that promote literacy and storytelling are still relevant because they help promote creativity and communication skills among the young people.

For the literary and publishing fraternity, competitions like this give an early peek into what is yet to come from potential writers, poets, and storytellers.

Latitude 2026

The 20th Anniversary edition of the Latitude Festival will be held from July 23 to 26 at Henham Park, Suffolk. The event will be marked by various performances on music, literature, theatre, comedy, and other cultural activities.

On this 20th anniversary celebration of the festival, the voices of six poets will open the festivities proving that good stories can be told by anyone.