Experience Opportunity

Words First Talent Development Scheme 2025

BBC Contains Strong Language are looking for the best emerging spoken word talent in the UK

Contains Strong Language, the BBC’s festival of poetry and performance, are looking to find the best emerging spoken word performers in the UK. Whatever your influences – lyricism, rap or hip hop – we want to know about you!

If you’re a spoken word artist, a rapper, an MC, poet or performer, and aged between 18 and 30 – Words First is for you.

Words First is a talent development scheme which will enhance your spoken word skills and confidence onstage. Selected artists will be given the chance to develop their work with established artists in workshops run by Apples and Snakes and Young Identity. Following this, shortlisted participants will be invited to take part in a recorded performance at the Contains Strong Language Festival in Bradford this September in front of a live audience.

Requirements

To apply for the Words First talent development scheme, you will need to submit your entry via BBC Upload.

Entry to the Words First talent development scheme (the “Scheme”) is open to people aged between 18 and 30 years, who are full time residents of the UK (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), who have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom, except employees of the BBC (or any BBC Group company), their close relatives or any person closely connected to the Scheme. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.

Applicants will need to be aged between 18 and 30 years old at the date that they upload their entry to BBC Upload.

At the time of application, applicants must not have, or be in the process of, signing a book deal with an established publishing house (self-publishing work and undertaking professional gig bookings are acceptable).

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