Yorkshire Integration Festival
The Festival is more than a community event. It's a moment to recognise everything that makes Yorkshire and Humber a fantastic place to be.
Our 2024 Festival was one of our best yet, with over 14,000 people coming to celebrate the vibrance and diversity of our region.
For the last three years the Yorkshire Integration Festival has been a space to celebrate of the positive impact made by migrants and refugees in Yorkshire and Humber, showcasing the diverse range of cultures and customs that make our region a special place to live.
The most recent Festival, at The Piece Hall in Halifax, will forever be remembered as the time when Little Amal visited Yorkshire on her journey around the world. Since 2021 she has become a symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees, and has been welcomed by millions of people around the globe. In Halifax, she led a procession of hundreds from the Town Hall to the Piece Hall, collecting crowds of people as she passed by.
Little Amal joined an exciting line up of performers including Mambo Jamboree, Raz and Afla and the Otley Brass Band. There was also a fantastic performance by Bhangra artists Punjabi Roots, who have become a firm Festival favourite since 2022.
There were also roaming performances, dancing, exhibitions and food and drink from around the world.
Each year the Festival provides a place of welcome for those seeking sanctuary. Many attendees are from our refugee communities across the region. In order to make the festival as accessible as possible, Migration Yorkshire provides free return coach travel and lunch on the day to enable refugees and asylum seekers from around Yorkshire and Humber to attend.
