Aspects Festival announces participation in the Southbank Centre’s A Poet In Every Port project with celebrity ambassador Roger McGough.
Plus, the full touring route for the new flagship national project taking a mobile National Poetry Library to over 28,000 people in 11 coastal towns across the UK, Friday 29 May – Saturday 26 September 2026
The Southbank Centre has announced poet Roger McGough as the celebrity ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, alongside the full touring route for the new national flagship national project bringing a mobile National Poetry Library to 11 coastal towns across the UK. Inspired by the travelling exhibitions of the 1951 Festival of Britain, it forms a key part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary national programme.
Led by the Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library in collaboration with 11 partners, A Poet In Every Port brings a selection of the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry, alongside free public events, workshops and poetry readings to each nation of the UK, from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, to Penzance in Cornwall; Bangor in Northern Ireland to Caernarfon in Wales.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Roger McGough as ambassador for A Poet In Every Port. Hailed as ‘the patron saint of poetry’, Roger is one of Britain’s most beloved wordsmiths, defined by a signature blend of Merseyside wit, accessibility, and warmth. He has a unique ability to bridge the gap between literary excellence and community engagement, making him the perfect figurehead to unite our 11 partner organisations and champion our shared voyage.
This intergenerational project sees our National Poetry Library taking their bespoke collection on the road, navigating our coastal communities and the unique poetry and spoken word that gives voice to them. This is a key project in the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary programme, where we consider what it means to be the arts centre of the future, and how, through creativity and culture, we can make a difference to people’s lives. In collaboration with our partners, the project will engage with hundreds of schoolchildren from across the UK, aged 8 – 16 and community groups.
In our 75th year, A Poet In Every Port provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the significant role poetry has played in the Southbank Centre’s history, while creating a lasting contemporary archive of modern coastal voices for the future”.
Roger McGough, ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, said: “May I begin by saying how honoured and excited I feel about being appointed Ambassador for such a worthwhile project, helping to promote something that has been central to me my whole life: Poetry. And not only poetry, but the Southbank Centre itself, because I remember when I was 14 being brought to London by my parents and being overawed by the Festival of Britain celebrations. Until then I thought only Liverpudlians knew how to enjoy themselves.
As ambassador I will help promote something I have loved all my life. Helping others reach out and touch people through poetry. Guiding the reader towards thoughts and ideas they didn’t know they had. Above all else, writing poetry is what helps us feel human, vulnerable and yet powerful, and above all, alive”.
Patricia Hamilton, Aspects Festival Director / Arts Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council commented:
“Aspects Festival is thrilled to be part of this prestigious national poetry project led by Southbank Centre. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the richness of our local voices, especially participating poets Amy Louise Wyatt and Denisa Hasieberova, who have been selected to be part of the New Poets Collective, telling stories about our area and showcasing our creative talent”.
We believe this initiative will inspire audiences here in Bangor and beyond to engage with poetry in fresh and exciting ways.”
The mobile National Poetry Library will visit Aspects Festival in Bangor on 25 and 26 September 2026.
For more information on A Poet In Every Port project, visit: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/create-learn/talent-artist-development/a-poet-in-every-port/