Crossed Wires podcast festival back for third year

A festival described as the "world's biggest podcasting party" has returned to Sheffield for its third year.

Crossed Wires is taking place from 2 to 5 July, with festival co-founder Alice Levine, Paul Whitehouse and Zoe Ball among the headline presenters.

Levine, co-creator of hit comedy podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno, Tramlines music festival co-founder James O'Hara and producer Dino Sofos founded the event in 2023.

Sofos said: "I think this is a really exciting weekend in Sheffield, because we have the biggest podcast festival in the entire world here in our city."

He said 25,000 people had attended last year, 10,000 of which were from outside South Yorkshire.

"It's huge, it's not just like a little thing. And we have people coming from across the world."

One family was coming from Canada to see children's storytelling podcast Story Shed, and people had travelled from Japan, Brazil, and America last year.

"It's great for local businesses, it brought a million quid to South Yorkshire over just one weekend last year," Sofos added.

Levine and BBC presenter Greg James will host a live edition of their podcast Bad Chat, with other shows over the weekend including British Scandal, The Elis & John Show and The Blindboy Podcast.

BBC Sounds is again sponsoring the free Fringe schedule after selling out all shows last year.

Podcasts like the Radio 2 Book Club with Sarah Cox, Nicky Campbell's Don't Say a Word and Strange But True Crime will be hosted on the Sounds stage at Cole Brothers.

An additional BBC Radio 4 stage at The Montgomery will feature a number of BBC Radio Sheffield's shows, including Yorkshire Podding with Toby Foster and Chelsey Ward and Football Heaven's Praise or Grumble Live.

Other shows are spread across venues like the Lyceum, Crucible Theatre and City Hall, with a free outdoor stage in Barker's Pool along with a bar and food stalls.

Sofos said Sheffield would "always be home" for Crossed Wires, but he would love to see versions of it "pop up in America, Australia, Ireland" in the future.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has provided £325,000 to support the festival over its first three years.

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