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 both days 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

12pm – Sheffield Town Hall: Opening speech by Martin McKervey, Vice Chair of Cultural Inclusive CIC

12.15 – Fargate: World Champion Acrobatic Lion Dance performance

From 1pm – 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

3.15 – 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 

12pm – Sheffield Town Hall: Opening speech by The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Safiya Saeed. Plus, ribbon cutting ceremony and Lion Eye Dotting ceremony.

12.15 – Fargate: World Champion Acrobatic Lion Dance performance

From 1pm – 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

4pm – 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.

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.”

The Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year Festival weekend is free to attend and open to all. Click here to find out more.