Celebrate the winners and highly commended poets from this year’s poetry competition with poetry readings at Manchester Cathedral.

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition is an annual, international poetry prize open to everyone and anyone.

To celebrate the launch of A Chime for Manchester, a project to mark the centenary of Manchester Cathedral’s bells and to develop on them for the future, we invited poets to meditate on the theme of ‘Bells’ for our annual poetry competition.

On Sunday January 25th 2026 1-4pm, we will host the prize ceremony, readings from winning and highly commended poets. Those who cannot attend due to distance will perform their poems virtually.

First prize goes to Maximiliano Buss Kopp for his poem Chubut, Chapel Chime, a poem that “transcends language and geography,” says Dean Rogers Govender. “The poet beautifully draws out the bell chimes beyond geography and nations. The distance of Chubut does not silence the bell’s chime in the ‘starlit chapel of his chest’. This has an endless appeal to the transcendent and joy that bells can bring to the human spirit.”

Second prize has been awarded to twelve-year-old Esme Alice Blue for her poem Reaching Out, and third prize to Tessa Pike for Wedding Bells.

Light refreshments will be available at this free event celebrating these remarkable poetic responses to bells.

This free event will take place between 1-4pm. All are welcome.