Liverpool Arab Arts Festival returns this July for an international celebration and showcase of art and cultures

LIVERPOOL Arab Arts Festival (LAAF), the UK’s longest running annual festival of Arab arts and culture, and returns for its 24th year this July. The festival will run from:- Friday, 17 July to Sunday, 26 July, 2026, at Various Venues, in Liverpool.

Founded in 1998, LAAF exists to support and champion creatives from across the Arab Region and its diaspora, in the belief that art and creativity have the power to express a shared humanity.

The festival was recently nominated in the LCR Culture and Creativity Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Culture; also celebrates Liverpool’s unique identity; a City, with a global community and brimming with artistry, that looks outwards across the world and welcomes and accepts all who arrive within it.

This year's theme is HOME, unfolding across a diverse range of disciplines, including:- music, theatre and performance, visual art, literature and film - with the festival programme culminating at the ever-popular LAAF Family Day.

LAAF 2026 will provide a platform for artists and audiences to explore the many meanings of:- “home” whether rooted in place and territory, shaped through family and relationships, or carried through memory, movement, environment, and social or geographic experience.

The festival will highlight how Arab artists; from within the region and across the diaspora; engage with the deep and ever shifting concept of belonging, while also recognising those whose sense of home is less stable or anchored, as is often the case for migrants and displaced communities.

Chair of Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, Afrah Qassim said:- “Home is a place we often imagine as a sanctuary of safety, stability and identity or where we belong. It is our roots, our memories, and the stories we carry with us wherever we go. Today, we must also recognise the painful reality facing many in our beloved homelands, those who have lost their homes, their families, and the sense of identity that a place can hold. LAAF is proud to be a platform that gives artists the space to tell their stories. Through art and storytelling, we create a space for our audience for reflection and conversation exploring the ‘what; behind the artist’s story and how it reflects upon their own."

He continued:- "We want this year’s theme to explore what home truly means for those of us living here while many simultaneously continue to endure war, displacement, dictatorship, discrimination and injustice. Is home simply a place of safety and belonging, or is it something deeper, the memories, culture and connections we carry with us wherever life takes us? To all those who have complicated relationships with what:- ‘home’ means, and to those still living through conflict and injustice: we stand with you and through art we honour your stories, your memories of home and the many truths that can be, and above all, your resilience.”

Announced so far for LAAF 2026:-

Tamsin Elliott (UK) and Tarek Elazhary - world premiere of Album 2!

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival will present the world premiere performance of the hugely anticipated 2nd album from:- Tamsin Elliott (UK) and Tarek Elazhary (Egypt). Together, Tamsin and Tarek explore the intriguing parallels and idiosyncrasies of Egyptian Maqam and English folk traditions in a captivating fusion of songs, tunes and textures, to find commonality, foster cross-cultural connection and help to heal the scars of a colonial past through meaningful and conscious collaboration.  Friday, 24 July 2026 - Philharmonic Music Room

Tickets are on sale online now.

LAAF Family Day

Taking place on the final day of the festival:- Sunday, 26 July, the long-established LAAF Family Day is a celebratory showcase of Arab arts and culture. Creating a moment of togetherness and community, Sefton Park’s Palm House will play host to a free afternoon of music, performance and authentic Arab culture, complemented by a range of stalls offering Arabic and Middle Eastern food, arts and crafts, traditional practices such as calligraphy and dance, as well as activities for children, including storytelling and workshops.

How to get involved....

LAAF welcome applications to trade at this event, and would especially like to hear from sellers whose product or service closely aligns with the objectives of LAAF and is suitable for a family audience. This year they're particularly interested in hearing from authentic Arab & Middle Eastern food traders, but all applications will be considered. Click on this link for more information and application form.

Across 10 days, a bold and diverse programme will trace the emotional and political dimensions of home: from the comfort of closeness to the ache of distance, and the possibilities in exploring new ground. Through sound, performance, visual art, and personal narratives, LAAF 2026 invites audiences to reflect on the places that shape us, and on how families, social networks, and communities continue to build foundations of cultural connection and inclusion.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival takes places across Liverpool venues from:- 17 to 26 July 2026. Tickets for all events as they are announced will be available here.