The day is designed to celebrate young people in Sheffield and encourage more children and families to get involved in snooker.

This forms part of a wider celebration of Sheffield’s connection to snooker and aims to inspire the next generation of players through hands-on experience, competition and live sport. It also builds on the success of the first Youth of Sheffield Day, which was staged during last year’s championship.

Sheffield Music Hub will be bringing live music to Tudor Square, with performances taking place outside the Crucible from 10.00am to 11:45am. Children and families can enjoy for free and include performances from Sheffield Youth Big Band and Rock and Pop Band Skills programme bands.

Youth Day will also include partnerships with local universities for students to work on the marketing, promotion and TV production of the event.

A free, bite sized careers trail, the Snooker Sector Safari, is also taking place. The trail showcases the wide range of careers involved in delivering a world‑class snooker event.

This year’s Seniors Snooker competition event will feature some of the biggest names in the sport, including Ronnie O’Sullivan and 12-time women’s world champion Reanne Evans. Defending champion Alfie Burden will also return, alongside ranking event winners Joe Perry, Robert Milkins and Dominic Dale.

Mike Dunn, World Seniors Snooker Director, said: “To see Tudor Square full of young people enjoying their music and the snooker was so heart-warming, this year promises to be bigger and better”

The announcement comes as World Seniors Snooker confirms that the championship will return to the Crucible from 6 to 10 May 2026, with an expanded field of 24 players competing for a record prize fund of £30,000.

Youth of Sheffield Day is designed to highlight Sheffield’s snooker legacy by inspiring the next generation of players and encouraging more young people to take up the sport.

The championship continues to bring players, fans and visitors to the city, supporting Sheffield’s reputation as the home of snooker, and the Crucible continues to act as host to the major event, attracting players, fans and families from across the world.

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On Saturday 10 May, 200 local children will attend the semi-finals courtesy of WSS and Sheffield City Council as part of their ‘Sheffield Loves Snooker’ campaign.

Children will get a chance to bring a grandparent to the Crucible Theatre as well as taking part in a snooker themed art competition which will be judged by 1997 world champion Doherty. The artwork will be displayed in the venue during the whole event which runs from the 7-11 May and follows on from the World Snooker Championship.

Doherty said: ”It was fantastic to meet the pupils today to tell them what Sheffield and the Crucible Theatre means to me and to also answer their questions about what it was like to win the World Championship in 1997. The plan for them to treat their grandparents to a day at the World Seniors Championship is brilliant and its great to see WSS engaging with so many local schools around the art competition.”

Jason Francis, WSS Chairman, said “The Youth of Sheffield Day is one of a number of projects we are running this year based around showcasing what is great about the steel city and the home of snooker. Semi-final Saturday will see Tudor Square full of local children and hopefully feeling the atmosphere of snooker at the Crucible could be the spark to encourage them to try the game themselves.”

Sinead Gaffney, Headteacher at Greystones Primary School said: “Everyone at Greystones loved meeting Ken today. It was a great opportunity for our children to learn more about the links between Sheffield and snooker, thanks to the Crucible’s role of hosting the World Championship.”

“Everyone wants to give snooker a go now and Ken’s message of working hard and aiming high is a brilliant model for every child, wherever their talents lie! Whether the children’s families have longstanding roots in the city, or if they are relative newcomers like myself, here’s another reason to feel proud of our wonderful city of Sheffield” she added.

The 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship featuring Doherty, Jimmy White and many more runs from 7-11 May and limited tickets remain available from just £17.50. Click here to buy yours now.

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The new initiative will see WSS engage with multiple local youth groups to champion the young people of the steel city and takes place on semi-final Saturday, the 10th May, from the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

More than 50 young snooker players from the local Stephen Harrison Snooker Academy will be invited to showcase their skills on the morning before being invited to watch the semi-final action unfold on snooker’s most famous stage.

Competitions will also be staged by the academy with the winner set to be presented with their prize at the Crucible Theatre by a legend of the sport.

As well as this collaboration, ‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ will also see Tudor Square full of groups celebrating the city’s youth activities and a partnership with the local universities which will see graduates working alongside WSS on all aspects of the marketing, promotion and TV production of the event.

Stephen Harrison, who runs the academy, said: “We are delighted to be involved in the 2025 World Seniors Championships. The academy has been providing services for the Sheffield community for over 17 years – growing grassroots snooker within our region and around the UK. We currently provide weekly professional snooker coaching and competitions for over 200 of our disabled members.

“It is great to be involved in the Youth of Sheffield Day – the children are so excited and cannot wait to attend. I’d like to say a big thank you to Jason Francis and Mike Dunn at World Seniors Snooker for making our junior members dreams come true by getting to visit the Crucible Theatre and feel the intensity of watching a live match at the theatre of dreams.”

Mike Dunn, World Seniors Snooker Director, said: “Being able to use the great work Stephen is doing within the city to celebrate the Youth of Sheffield at the World Seniors Championship is brilliant. Snooker is synonymous with the city and helping to develop young talent is so important. I know as a player what it means to play at the Crucible Theatre and I know it will be amazing for these children to watch snooker live here for the first time.”

‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ follows on from the previous success of ‘Seniors of Sheffield Day’, which is back for the third time on Friday 9th May, and will once again see local members of the aging population invited to meet some snooker legends and watch the matches live.

In addition, a ‘Business of Sheffield Day’ will also be staged during the Championship to champion local business,. This will be staged on Thursday 8th with a business breakfast with 1985 World Snooker Champion Dennis Taylor.

To find out more about how your child can get involved in Youth Day please contact the Stephen Harrison Academy at info@stephenharrisonacademy.com

Tickets remain available for the World Seniors Championship and start from just £17.50.

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