Delivered by Cultural Inclusive CIC with the support of Sheffield City Council and Sheffield BID, and in partnership with title sponsor CHERY, the Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year Festival 2026 has concluded after a spectacular week of celebration, drawing tens of thousands into the city centre and confirming its status as the largest Lunar New Year celebration in Yorkshire.
Blessed with fantastic sunshine across the main weekend of 21 and 22 February, Sheffield’s Peace Gardens, Fargate and Town Hall were filled with families, residents and visitors enjoying two days of international performance, culture and community.
The festival began on Monday 16 February with a landmark joint light switch-on at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Through the combined Lunar New Year and Ramadan light installations, more than £50,000 has already been raised in support of The Children’s Hospital Charity, funding vital care and research.
Across the weekend, world-class performers took centre stage, including the internationally acclaimed World Champion Acrobatic Lion Dance team, whose breathtaking high-pole performances on Fargate drew huge crowds on both days. Sunday’s Lion Eye Dotting ceremony outside Sheffield Town Hall, followed by the parade and grand finale in the Peace Gardens, provided a powerful civic moment and a dramatic conclusion to the celebrations.
Beyond the city centre weekend, the festival extended across Sheffield with a ticketed Gala Spectacular at the Octagon Centre, delivering an evening of Chinese acrobatics, martial arts and dance in support of The Children’s Hospital Charity.
At Meadowhall, a week of free cultural workshops and exhibitions brought Lunar New Year activity to families and visitors throughout the half-term period, culminating in a special evening of performance in the Oasis dining hall on Friday night, where lion dance and live cultural showcases rounded off the retail programme.
Festival founder Jerry Cheung said:
“This festival has always been about more than just performance. It’s a chance for us to come together, to learn from each other, and to build bridges between communities. The response in 2025 was incredible – and this year, we want to take that even further. Sheffield is a city of many cultures, and this festival belongs to all of us.”
In 2025, the festival generated £253,000 in additional city centre sales, with 30 per cent of visitors travelling from outside Sheffield. Early indications suggest 2026 has surpassed previous attendance levels, reinforcing the festival’s growing regional significance.
Now firmly established as a centrepiece of Sheffield’s cultural calendar, the Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year Festival continues to grow in scale and impact — bringing global performance to the heart of Yorkshire while delivering meaningful economic and charitable benefit for the city.
