The Big Issue

The Big Issue is one of Britain’s leading news and cultural magazines. Every week’s edition is packed full of original takes on the biggest issues of the day as well as interviews with the most significant figures in politics and entertainment. The Big Issue was founded 1991 to give people experiencing homelessness the opportunity to earn their own income. We continue to support hundreds of vendors across the UK and all proceeds from sales go to help anyone wanting to lift themselves out of poverty.

THE DISPATCH

The Big Issue

‘I can deal with the cold and wet weather. What I can’t deal with is everybody walking past me on the streets like I don’t exist’

YOUR LETTERS

The past can turn you inside out

A night of inspiration with our friends in Europe

Sir Magdi Yacoub • One of the world’s leading heart surgeons, he performed the UK’s first heart-lung transplant and has saved thousands of lives. At 90, he’s still innovating

Freddie Mercury was a big fan of Christmas. • BRIAN MAY AND ROGER TAYLOR ON BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY AT 50

How Wham! killed the Christmas number one

The long and winding road

Appetite for construction

MY BIG YEAR • The Lioness-turned-pundit-turned Strictly star is proud that in 2025 she led the fight to make positive changes in women’s football

Indelible ink

AND IT WAS ALWAYS SAID OF HIM, THAT HE KNEW HOW TO KEEP CHRISTMAS WELL • Christmas can be a trial, but Big Issue is here to help. In the tradition of the greatest of all Christmas morality tales (maybe aside from the one that came out of the manger) we look to Christmas past, present and future to see how the key period sits. And remember, one thing that ALWAYS makes Christmas better is your Big Issue.

Where do British festive traditions really come from? • Our warm, fuzzy feeling of safety is an illusion. Some of our best-loved British traditions, those rituals we consider to be the thread and fabric of our national identity, are not British at all. We’ve delved into the origins of our beloved rituals – from crackers and trees to speeches and turkeys.But it is not mere information for information’s sake. At Big Issue, we are committed to journalism you can actually put to use in your life. So pull this page out and save it to ward off a genuinely British tradition: the Christmas Day row.

All AI want for Christmas

FESTIVE WEATHER • I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, at evens from some bookies

What will Christmas look like in 2040 ? • Doctor Who isn’t on this Christmas, but it doesn’t mean we’re not time travelling. Believe it or not, 2040 is only 15 short years away. While we might think of Christmas as an unchanging beacon, the festive season could be transformed.We’ve been speaking to experts about how different Christmas 2040 might be across food, TV, and shopping – the three things which make Christmas what it is.Of course, predictions don’t always come true. We may yet change these shadows, by an altered life

MY BIG YEAR • Need Christmas party outfit inspiration? Ask Jim Chapman. The converted Oasis fan is one of the UK’s foremost fashion influencers, with an online audience of 7.5 million

Cluster

Stories of suffering and strength

Life finds a way

A remarkable new reality for the rhino

A dementia diagnosis is not a final curtain. It can even be an opening act

ROBIN INCE IS ON THE ROAD

This underground seed bank is our global biological safety net

MY BIG YEAR • Fresh from success with 2025’s Riot Women, the actor has come to terms with her Oasis envy and love for Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott

Puzzles

MY PITCH GRANT ELDER, 64 • WAITROSE,...