University to host events for BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this September, the spoken-word festival is being hosted in Salford for the first time from Thursday 24 September to Sunday 27 September.

The festival will feature some of the UK’s most celebrated poets, performers and broadcasters to the city, including the University’s own Professor of Creative Writing, Jackie Kay CBE, and the renowned ‘Bard of Salford’ John Cooper Clarke.

The University’s Maxwell Hall, Digital Media Performance Lab and the wider MediaCity campus will host a total of 26 events across the four days of the festival.

The events will include a prizegiving ceremony for the Young Poet Laureate competition, an audio dramatisation of The Epic of Gilgamesh by UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, two interactive speaking sessions with Jackie Kay and a discussion with the producers and songwriters from the highly-anticipated Songs of Salford project.

In its entirety, the festival will comprise of more than seven stages including the BBC’s own studios at MediaCity, The Lowry, Imperial War Museum North, Salford Youth Zone, Nells restaurant in Media City and the Blues Kitchen in Manchester city centre.

Over the last decade, the festival has become one of the UK’s leading cultural festivals, championing poetry, spoken wood and performance while connecting audiences with stories that challenge, inspire and entertain. This year’s festival aims to celebrate the people, performances and perspectives that make Greater Manchester one of the UK’s most distinctive cultural regions.

Sam Ingleson, Academic Director of Place Based Impact at the University of Salford, said: “We are delighted to be throwing open our doors to the Contains Strong Language Festival in the city’s centenary year.

“This is a festival that is so closely suited to the values of the city and its proud cultural past. The power of the spoken word to connect and bring people together is a value that has been ingrained in our city for generations.

“We are very grateful to have the likes of our honorary graduate John Cooper Clarke and former Chancellor, Jackie Kay CBE, perform here and are in no doubt that they will inspire the next generation of writers and performers.”

Festival director Sue Roberts said: “As Contains Strong Language celebrates its tenth birthday, bringing the festival to Salford during the city's landmark centenary year is a privilege.

“Whether you are a lifelong poetry lover or discovering spoken word for the first time, there is something here for everyone.”

John Cooper Clarke said: “Contains Strong Language... of course it does. It's in Salford, what do you expect? Strong language and the city of Salford are a universally recognised double act and this year - in the tradition of great Salfordian names such as Graham Nash, Albert Finney and Mark E Smith - Dr John Cooper Clarke will be in-house and face to face with our current Poet Laureate Mr Simon Armitage... am I worthy? We'll find out on Saturday 26 September.”

Tickets for the festival are available now.