Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year Festival 2026 reaches its centrepiece this weekend as the city hosts what is now officially the largest Lunar New Year celebration in Yorkshire.
The festival began on Monday 16 February with a light switch on at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Through the Lunar New Year and Ramadan light installations, more than £50,000 has already been raised in support of The Children’s Hospital Charity.
Presented by Cultural Inclusive CIC with support from Sheffield BID and Sheffield City Council, and in partnership with CHERY, the 2026 festival runs until 25 February and includes city-wide activity at Meadowhall, The Octagon and in schools across Sheffield.
The main free public celebrations take place this Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February across the Peace Gardens, Fargate and Sheffield Town Hall and will feature the breath-taking Acrobatic Lion Dance performance at 12.15pm on Saturday 21st Feb and Sunday 22nd Feb at the top of Fargate with an additional performance at 3:15pm on the Saturday.
Food and drink vendors with a mouth-watering array of flavours from many parts of the world will be onsite throughout the weekend.
Saturday 21 February – Key Timings
12.00 – Sheffield Town Hall
Opening speech by Martin McKervey, Vice Chair of Cultural Inclusive CIC
12.15 – Fargate
World Champion Acrobatic Lion Dance performance
From 13.00 – Peace Gardens Main Stage hosted by Dom Ng, Liesl Soards, Guo Shengyao (Eden) and Canyu Zhang (Aaron) ft:
Wanlin Academy of Dance and Performing Art
International Culture Costume Show
The Guizhou Acrobatics Team performing shoulder ballet, sandbag and stick juggling, aerial perch work, diablo, hat juggling, magic costume change and drum foot juggling
Instrumental performances from Chia Hsin Lin and ensemble
Solo performances from Hailu Ni and Ivy Blandford
Rotherham Theatrical Student Academy performing numbers from Chicago
Jinlong Culture and Performing Arts Wushu and Kungfu displays
15.15 – Fargate
Second World Champion Acrobatic Lion Dance performance
From 15.45 – Peace Gardens Main stage ft:
Romano Jilo Dance Group
Further martial arts displays
Golden Pheasant Dance
Final musical and acrobatic performances
Sunday 22 February
12.00 – Sheffield Town Hall
Opening speech by The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Safiya Saeed
Ribbon-cutting ceremony
Lion Eye Dotting ceremony
12.15 – Fargate
World Champion Acrobatic Lion Dance performance
From 13.00 – Peace Gardens Main Stage hosted by Dom Ng, Liesl Soards, Guo Shengyao (Eden) and Canyu Zhang (Aaron) ft:
Wanlin Academy of Dance and Performing Art
International Culture Costume Show presented by Baroness Anette von Kohorn
The Guizhou Acrobatics Team performing shoulder ballet, sandbag and stick juggling, aerial perch work, diablo, hat juggling, magic costume change and drum foot juggling
Choir performances from Sheffield Music Services including Gong Xi, In Harmony, I Like the Flowers, Find Your Light and This Is Me
Solo performances from Hailu Ni and Ivy Blandford
African live music from Sound Café
Instrumental performances from Chia Hsin Lin and ensemble
Rotherham Theatrical Student Academy performing numbers from Chicago
Romano Jilo Dance Group
Sheffield Kerala Association
Knights of Rizal
Jinlong Culture and Performing Arts Wushu and Kungfu displays
16.00 – Closing Ceremony
Dance performance from Wanlin Academy
Closing speech by Jerry Cheung, Chairman and Founder of Cultural Inclusive CIC
Solo performance of Good Luck by Hailu Ni
Grand Finale: Gongxi Gongxi
Performance times are approximate and subject to change.
The weekend follows a packed week of activity already underway across the city:
Monday 16 February – Light switch on at Sheffield Children’s Hospital
Wednesday 18 February – Gala Spectacular at the Octagon Centre raising funds for The Children’s Hospital Charity
15–20 February – Free daily workshops at Meadowhall
Friday 20 February – Evening lion dance performance at Meadowhall
Ongoing free China Day school workshops throughout January
Festival founder Jerry Cheung said:
“This weekend is the heartbeat of the festival. It is about bringing the whole city together and sharing culture in the open air. To see it grow into the largest Lunar New Year celebration in Yorkshire is something Sheffield can be proud of.”
In 2025, the festival generated £253,000 in additional city centre sales, with 30 per cent of visitors travelling from outside Sheffield. Organisers expect 2026 to surpass those figures.
The Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year Festival weekend is free to attend and open to all.
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