2005 - The idea of welcome

In 2005, Rev Dr Inderjit Singh Bhogal OBE began exploring an idea of how Sheffield could become a ‘City of Sanctuary’, joining up all the work that was happening across the city, bringing in more mainstream society and creating a city-wide culture of welcome and hospitality for those seeking sanctuary.

He shared this idea with Craig Barnett, and they began to work on it together. Together they envisioned a city-wide movement of local groups, including the City Council, committed to welcoming and including people seeking sanctuary in the UK. A mainstream movement of support for people seeking sanctuary.

Craig and Inderjit worked to deliberately re-frame how asylum was being discussed, focusing on their positive vision for the city; one which takes pride in being a place of welcome and safety. They felt that if a significant number of schools, community groups, faith groups and cultural organisations, as well as local government, supported their idea there would be a positive welcome and involvement for people seeking sanctuary and these values would be embedded in every aspect of our city.

On the 15th October 2005, 50 representatives from local organisations met to discuss Sanctuary. Quickly 60 Sheffield organisations adopted the following resolution:
“Our organisation recognises the contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to the City of Sheffield, and is committed to offering hospitality to people who come here in need of safety from persecution. We support the goal of Sheffield becoming a recognised City of Sanctuary for asylum seekers and refugees.”

2007 - The UK’s first City of Sanctuary

The City of Sanctuary working group set out to enlist the support of a wide range of local groups and organisations, including faith groups, schools and colleges, student unions at the city’s universities, voluntary organisations, community groups, businesses and crucially the local authority.

They also organised social events which encouraged connection between different communities and amplified the refugee voices, working to counter the biased media coverage and challenge people’s preconceptions about asylum.

By 2007, over 70 local organisations had signed the resolution of support.

On 18th June 2007, during Refugee Week, Sheffield City Council unanimously agreed to support the movement, declaring Sheffield to be the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’.

“I am also proud to announce that Sheffield is endorsing the City of Sanctuary Campaign. This gives a commitment to actively welcoming refugees.” Arthur Dungworth, Lord Mayor of Sheffield. June 2007.

2016 - Sanctuary takes to the stage

In 2010, Stand and Be Counted Theatre (SBC Theatre) was founded by Rosie MacPherson and John Tomlinson, with a belief in theatre as a tool for social change. In 2016 SBC Theatre became the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary.

Their production of ‘TANJA’ was presented at Sanctuary in Parliament, and toured the UK twice, being seen by thousands of people and exposing the real situations of immigration detention centres. That project was the catalyst for many future productions and programmes made with people seeking sanctuary in Sheffield and beyond.
SBC’s Youth Theatre of Sanctuary launched in September 2021, this is the first group of its kind in the UK and invites children and young people aged 5-15* to develop a wide range of creative skills, learn English and make new friends. For our older members we offer opportunities as part of Youth Speakers, a development scheme focused on public speaking and leadership training.

SBC’s Soap Box Collective launched in 2022; supporting adults in Sheffield and then onwards in Bradford and Oldham - to develop their creative pathways, empowering hundreds of people across the north each year to be enabled to produce high quality arts project with the support of a dedicated group of experts, in a safe and inclusive environment.

Since then, SBC’s work has been experienced on steam trains, yellow buses, in parks, in theatres, on film, in music videos, shopping centres and across many public squares. They hold the world record for the longest multi-club football scarf which they broke in June 2026, as part of a major Sheffield event that involved thousands of people.

In 2025 we started thinking about Sanctuary 2027. What it could be and is it what we need right now?

We all knew the context - hostility in Sheffield and around the world was building; migrants were being targeted and the narrative of migration and sanctuary was one which was heavily politicised. We also had a vision of challenging this environment head on. A vision of a year where across the city we reaffirmed our collective commitment to sanctuary with creativity and joy.

Throughout the summer and into the autumn we spoke to people about this vision. Community leaders, artists, people seeking sanctuary, local authority leaders and many more and we asked the simple, vital question - is this a good idea?

And the answer came back loud and clear - yes. This is good. We want to be part of it. Let’s run with it. And collectively, that is what we have done.

On the 16th of October 2025, SBC and COSS brought together cultural organisations in Sheffield and asked them what this could look like. Many ideas were floated but it was all agreed that a team would be required to some scoping work, bring together communities and grassroots organisations aswell as artists and institutions of the Sheffield to produce a year long programme of events.

2025 - is this a good idea?

2026 - lets start planning 2027

Initial seed funding from Sheffield City Council led to the recruitment of 4 members of the core team: community inspiration coordinators (Muetesim Ahmed and Salma Mohamed) and programme development producers (afshan d’souza-lodhi and Alfie Heffer),

The team began by meeting artists, grassroots and community groups as well as organisations across Sheffield to hear first hand how they would like to be involved in Sanctuary 2027. Rather than arriving with a programme already decided, the team set out to understand what was already happening across the city, what communities wanted to create, and how Sanctuary 2027 could help bring people and ideas together.

The result is a programme built in many different ways. Some organisations are taking events and activities they already deliver and turning the lens towards sanctuary, exploring what welcome, belonging and solidarity mean within their own work. Others are applying for funding to develop projects, using Sanctuary 2027 as a jumping off point and as an opportunity to bring ideas to life. Artists, community groups and organisations are also collaborating with each other and/or working alongside the Sanctuary 2027 team to create new events, performances and shared experiences.

in 2007 sheffield became the first city of sanctuary in the uk.