To celebrate it all, we’d like to invite you to join us in a conversation about the most important artists, the most important books, the most important theatre shows. Part mission statement, part cultural archive, part collective memory. A cultural and social survey and conversation with you, our audience, to establish in your eyes and our eyes what the most important aspects of modern life and culture have been.
And we’re starting with:
The Most Important Young Voice or Voices
With each category, we’ll be showcasing winners chosen by the Latitude panel or by you, our loyal audience.
Explore our full list of categories below.
Explore The Categories Here…
1. The Most Important Young Voice or Voices Monday 3rd November
It is young voices that have always created change. Older voices might have legislated change, but it’s the young voices that have created the pressure for the legislators to respond to.
2.The Most Important Poet – Monday 10th November
Poetry has been at the heart of our programme since our very first edition. In the last twenty years, we’ve enjoyed incredible new talent, and seen established artists taking their poetry into new genres. Here, we will celebrate our most important poets.
3.The Most Important Illustrator – Friday 28th November
The best illustrations capture what words alone cannot: a feeling, a truth, a moment of connection. Here we recognise the artists whose work stops us in our tracks.
4. The Most Important Choreographer – Sunday 20th December
Sometimes, movement can speak louder than words, and never more so than on our Waterfront Stage. This category honours the choreographers who have made an incredible contribution to the dance canon, whether that’s an iconic production, extraordinary storytelling or a new movement language.
5. The Most Important Societal Change – Wednesday 31st December
Some conversations were once whispered. Now, they’re shouted. This category celebrates the cultural shifts that have brought once-taboo topics into the open, bringing progress, understanding and empathy.
6.The Most Important Digital Innovation – Tuesday 6th January
In July 2006, when Latitude first began, the smartphone was not yet mainstream. We’ll be sorting through twenty years of astonishing progress to identify the innovations that have – for better or worse – changed the way we connect, think, and live.
7. The Most Important Cultural Movement – Monday 19th January
This category honours the collective calls for justice, equality, and change that have marked the last twenty years. The campaigns and activism that have reshaped our cultural landscape and through difficult, necessary conversation, demanded that we hold others, and ourselves, to a higher standard.
8.The Most Important TV Comedy – Coming soon with our Comedy headliners!
TV comedy unites millions, turning living rooms into stages for collective laughter. This category celebrates shows with impeccable timing, unforgettable characters, and wildly original ideas.
9. The Most Important Podcast – Monday 2nd February
Podcasts have revolutionised how we consume stories and ideas, transforming everyday moments into windows onto new worlds. This category celebrates the podcasts that grip us with compelling narratives, distinctive voices, and fresh perspectives.
10. The Most Important Author – Thursday 5th February
When we think of our most important author, we’re thinking of those whose body of work during the last twenty years has an impact far beyond the bookshelf. Whether it’s stark new perspectives or sumptuous literary canon, we’ll work with you to identify our Most Important Author.
11.The Most Important Cultural Chef – Thursday 17th February
For some chefs, food is more than nourishment, sensational flavour, or three courses. Food is culture, memory, and identity. This category will celebrate the chef with an outsized cultural impact.
12. The Most Important Television Show – Monday 23rd February
The best TV doesn’t just entertain, it pushes boundaries, provokes conversation and leaves a lasting cultural mark. We celebrate the shows that stay with us long after the end credits: the series with searing performances, bold storytelling and uncompromising vision.
13. The Most Important Director – Wednesday 25th February
Great directors don’t just make films; they create unforgettable worlds. We champion the visionaries behind the camera: the film-makers with bold imagination, meticulous craft, and the ability to turn a script into something that moves millions.
14.The Most Important Album – Friday 27th February
Great albums stay with you. This category honours an era-defining work, a complete artistic vision that blends creativity, technical mastery, and cohesive storytelling from the first note to the last.
15.The Most Important Musical Artist or Songwriter – Sunday 28th February
These are the musicians who have shaped the soundtrack of our lives over the last 20 years. On the stages of Latitude and beyond, they turn words and melodies into unforgettable moments.
16.The Most Important Fiction – Monday 2nd March
This category celebrates the individual novels that have sparked conversation, shifted perspectives, or showed us new ways to use words. We’ve passed them from hand to hand, and now we’ll share them with you.
17. The Most Important Non Fiction book – Thursday 5th March
Some books shape public discourse, challenge our assumptions, or give us new language to share complex ideas. In this category, we’ll share the books that made us think differently.
18.The Most Important Moment in Women’s Sport – Sunday 8th March
This category recognises the moments in women’s sport that redefined possibility, inspired a generation, and demanded the world take notice. Or, put simply: the moments that changed the game.
19. The Most Important Theatre Show – Friday 27th March
Theatre has the power to move us, to provoke us, and often to hold a mirror up to our world. This category celebrates the productions that have stayed with us long after the curtain falls.
20.The Most Important Climate Conversation – Wednesday 22nd April
It is conversations that ignite action. Policies may follow, but it begins with dialogue that shifts understanding and urgency. In our view, the most important climate conversation is the one that unites science, policy, and people. Transforming awareness into action for the planet’s future.
