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Festival Schedule and Key Venues
Useful Details and Legacy Projects

Coventry is marking a historic milestone this June with the city’s first-ever Windrush Festival. Spanning five days from June 18 to June 22, 2026, the festival programme celebrates the profound contributions of the Windrush Generation while embedding their legacy into the city’s cultural identity. Entrance to every event is entirely free of charge, offering residents and visitors an accessible way to engage with this vital chapter of local and national history.

Developed by Coventry City Council in partnership with the Windrush Community, Septimius Severus Community Action Coventry, Arawak Community Trust, and Coventry University, the festival features a diverse mix of film, academic lectures, and civic commemorations.

Festival Schedule and Key Venues

The programme is spread across several prominent locations in the city, designed to encourage community reflection and celebration. Attendees are encouraged to plan their visits around the following highlights:

June 18: Barrel Children: The Families Windrush Left Behind screening at LBT Showrooms. This event includes a post-film Q&A session with filmmaker and journalist Nadine White.
June 19: Reggae Theatrics: Dub Poetry, Words, Sound, Power and Resistance, a public lecture delivered by Dr Martin Glynn, hosted at the Caribbean Centre.
June 20: Roots in Motion, an outdoor festival in the city centre featuring live music, dance, and a showcase of sound system culture.
June 21: The Coventry Windrush Service at Coventry Cathedral. Held on Father’s Day, this service will specifically focus on the theme of Windrush Men.
June 22: The festival concludes with a formal civic flag-raising ceremony at the Council House, followed by the Windrush Arawaks Awards Ceremony at the Albany Theatre.

Useful Details and Legacy Projects

Beyond the immediate five-day event, the festival aims to establish a permanent record of local history. A central component of the initiative is the creation of the Windrush Cultural Archive, which will be permanently housed at Coventry University. This archive will be open to the public, preserving the personal stories and historical contributions of those who travelled to the UK from the Caribbean starting in 1948.

Councillor John McNicholas, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion, has indicated that the festival is intended to become an annual fixture in the city’s calendar. The programme is supported by £22,500 in government funding, with a specific emphasis on involving young people to ensure the history of the Windrush Generation remains a vital part of Coventry’s future as a City of Peace and Reconciliation.

For those planning to attend, events are distributed throughout the city centre and various partner venues. As all events are free and open to the public, attendees are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating, particularly for the film screening and the lecture series.

Source: Coventry City Council