The Southbank Centre announces Roger McGough as ambassador for A Poet In Every Port

The Southbank Centre today announces poet Roger McGough as the celebrity ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, alongside the full touring route for the project bringing the National Poetry Library to 11 coastal towns across the UK. Inspired by the travelling exhibitions of the 1951 Festival of Britain, it forms a key part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary national programme.

Led by a touring version of the Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library in collaboration with 11 partners, A Poet In Every Port brings a selection of the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry in a new mobile library, alongside free public events, workshops and poetry readings. The mobile National Poetry Library travels to each nation of the UK, from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, to Penzance in Cornwall; Bangor in Northern Ireland to Caernarfon in Wales.

Kicking off in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk on 29 May 2026, the project celebrates the UK’s diverse dialects and languages and tells the stories of our coastal communities in poetry and spoken word throughout its journey. Mid-tour, the mobile National Poetry Library visits the Southbank Centre’s Poetry International festival in London (12 July).

The mobile National Poetry Library features unique poetry collections, a recording studio, and space for workshops. Visitors of all ages are free to browse the collection, take part in free workshops and watch performances by local poets. They can also submit their own Word Exchange poem in a national competition. Anyone in the UK will be able to get involved via social media. Full details on how to participate will be released in May.

As ambassador, Roger McGough will launch the tour in Great Yarmouth on 29 May and join the mobile National Poetry Library at a number of stops across the tour. He will also write a specially commissioned new Word Exchange poem to launch the national competition, and support the schools activity across the tour.