Slamovision is spoken word’s answer to Eurovision, a Global Poetry Slam between spoken word artists from UNESCO Cities of Literature.

In the past few years, Manchester has seen incredible success at Slamovision, with our very own Esther Koch and Griot Gabriel winning in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Last year’s crown was taken by Iowa City’s Henry Morray, but this year it’s all to play for once again. 

Manchester UNESCO City of Literature is offering a prize of £250 to the poet who represents our city at Slamovision 2026. The selected poet’s final recorded poetry video will be shared at the finals event hosted and live-streamed by Iowa City on November 1st 2026. (Note: We are unable to send the winning poet to Iowa final in person.)

Entries must be received by Midnight, Sunday 30th August 2026.

Entry Requirements:

• You must be 18+ and live, work or study in Manchester
• Your poem can be on any topic or theme
• Your poem can be in any language
• Your poem can be up to 4 minutes in length maximum, recorded in landscape (16:9 aspect ratio)
• Video files must be submitted as: 1080p resolution (minimum), with a format either .mp4 or .mov ( h.264 / h.265 or apple pro res) and a bit rate of at least 6 Mbps
• Your poem can be a pre-existing video but please ensure there is no accompaniment and the sound is clear
• You must not use any props or costumes
• You must submit a written transcript in English alongside your video entry.

Please submit a link to your 4 minute video and poetry transcript, a headshot and a short biography to us via this google form: https://forms.gle/PvRisEF7FDFbuaYh6

Please note that if your poem wins, it will appear on the Slamovision website. 

We can’t wait to hear your poems!