Spotlight on Leicester – Leicester Communities Together Festival
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Spotlight on Leicester explores the Communities Together Festival in Jubilee Square, where services, charities and community groups meet residents. In the podcast, Kate Galoppi outlines council support, Mo Peberdy shares lived experience of volunteering, and Krupa Bhatt highlights inclusion. Together they show why face-to-face contact matters and how the festival builds stronger connections. This event is part of Leicester’s wider commitment to accessible support, participation and wellbeing across the city.
In this edition of Spotlight on Leicester, we focus on the upcoming Leicester Communities Together Festival, which brings people, services and community groups into Jubilee Square for a day of connection and celebration. The conversation, recorded as part of Soar Sound’s preparations, brings together three voices with different perspectives on why the event matters and what it offers.
Kate Galoppi from Leicester City Council outlines the background to the festival and the council’s commitment to making services accessible. She explains how this day is the culmination of sustained work to ensure residents can find support before reaching a crisis, with practical opportunities for advice, information and participation. She also highlights how the festival is intended to be a welcoming public space where people can meet services face to face.
Community partner Mo Peberdy brings in her experience of volunteering and using adult social care. She talks about the value of direct engagement, the difference it makes when people are able to ask questions in person, and the opportunities it creates for genuine dialogue. For Mo, the festival represents a way to put lived experience at the centre of shaping better services for the city.
Krupa Bhatt from Mosaic 1898 reflects on the importance of inclusion and representation. She raises the barriers people still face in accessing support and the role of community organisations in breaking these down. For her, the festival is an opportunity to show how voluntary groups and the council can work side by side, with equal weight given to service users, carers, families and professionals.
The discussion ends with a shared view that making services visible and approachable in public spaces is essential to long-term wellbeing in Leicester. The festival is not just a single event but part of a wider effort to build stronger connections, reduce isolation and support independence.
Listen to the full conversation on the podcast to hear more about the thinking behind the festival and the stories of those involved.
