Lyra Bristol Poetry Slam Finals 2025
with headline performances from Arielle Cottingham and Toby Campion
Come along to see 10 of Bristol's finest wordsmiths battle it out to be crowned the 2025 Lyra Bristol Poetry Slam Champion, as well as feature performances from international headline poet Arielle Cottingham and former UK Poetry Slam winner Toby Campion.
The winning poet will need to impress the judging panel as well as YOU, the audience, who have the biggest say of all. Raucous, energetic and passionate, this is an audience favourite at Lyra Festival and a landmark event in Bristol's cultural calendar.
Also featuring poetry from the 2024 Lyra Bristol Slam Champion, Jo Eades!
Presented in association with Spoken Word Berlin.
Arielle Cottingham:
Queer Afro-Latine poet, performance artist, service industry worker, and educator Arielle Cottingham toured four continents in five years, giving performances and teaching work-shops across North America, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Their work explores questions of belonging across multiple intersectionalities and political contexts, and it has appeared in multiple literary journals both in print and online. Notable performances include Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, 48Hours Neukölln, the Alley Theatre, the Museum of Old & New Art (MONA), and the Sydney Opera House, where they won the title of Australian National Poetry Slam Champion in 2016. They are currently based in Berlin, where they co-organize and host Berlin Spoken Word: currently the longest running all-language open mic in the city.
Part of Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival 2025
#LyraFest
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Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio