The world's biggest podcast festival Crossed Wires announces first wave of acts for July 2026
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Crossed Wires podcast festival reveals the first wave of acts for 2026, plus expanded Fringe from BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, for its exciting move to a four-day event.
After doubling footfall in its second year, Crossed Wires will curate an extra day of events and activities for 2026, running from Thursday 2nd - Sunday 5th July in Sheffield. It will see 35,000 people descend on the city, further cementing Crossed Wires as officially the biggest podcast festival in the world.
The appointment of Greg James as Creative Director catapulted the festival into new heights, followed by a gold win at the Audio Production Awards last week, for its outstanding contribution to championing the UK podcast industry.
First wave of acts for 2026 to include:
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
Plus, Sara & Cardiad’s Weirdos Book Club, Nick Cope’s Family Show, Story Shed, Get A Grip: Bras Off and The Screen Rot Podcast all heading to Sheffield in one packed-out weekend, and plenty more to come in the second announcement wave.
BBC Sounds return to Crossed Wires in 2026, bringing even more of the BBC’s signature storytelling and household-names to the heart of the festival, for free. New for 2026 is the arrival of BBC Radio 4 who are taking over a new theatre venue at the Montgomery Hall. BBC Sounds will be settling back into Cole Brothers – a former department store building – following the sellout Crossed Wires Free Fringe in 2025.
On day one of Crossed Wires 2025, Michael Palin brought audiences a world-first Monty Python performance which set the festival up for countless surprises across the weekend, including an exclusive Shipping Forecast reading by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and an on-stage audience proposal at Help I Sexted My Boss.
2026 promises even more opportunities to discover new favourites, meet fellow fans, and immerse yourself in the thriving podcast scene that now calls Sheffield home. From intimate pop-ups to immersive storytelling, Crossed Wires is constantly evolving.
Expect live podcast recordings, a buzzing Fringe, after-parties, and one-off events across Sheffield’s most iconic venues including City Hall and the Crucible, all within easy walking distance.
Whether you’re a podcast connoisseur or just curious, there’s a place, and a moment, waiting for you here.
Sign up at CrossedWires.Live now to access pre-sale on Wednesday 10th December. General sale on Thursday 11th November 2025.
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