Meet one of our Children's Poetry Competition winners! | Klarna presents Latitude 2026

Latitude Festival and the BBC have announced the six finalists of the 2026 BBC and Latitude Young Poet Competition, the third year of the partnership and its most ambitious edition to date. One finalist from each of the six BBC local radio areas will perform their poem live on Latitude's iconic floating Waterfront Stage at Henham Park, Suffolk, on the evening of Thursday 23rd July 2026, officially opening the festival's 20th anniversary celebrations. An overall winner will be announced during the festival weekend. The competition, which launched on World Poetry Day in March 2026, invited children aged 7 to 11 from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk to write a poem of up to 200 words on the theme of Generations. The finalists were selected by a panel of judges including Kirsty Taylor, Latitude's Arts Curator; Luke Wright, renowned East Anglian poet who has performed at every Latitude Festival since 2006; Rob Jelly, host of BBC Upload in the East; and Babs Michel, presenter at BBC East. One winner, Connie (11) from Suffolk, took on the whole sweep of popular music from Baby Boomers to Gen Alpha, finding her own place in that story with a Spotify playlist featuring Dolly Parton, the Goo Goo Dolls and Coldplay. ** Get more Latitude at: http://www.latitudefestival.com   / latitudefestival     / latitudefest     / latitudefest   http//www.tiktok.com/latitudefest Subscribe:    / latitudefest