Demography
thumb|Population pyramid of the City of Sunderland in 2020
2021 census
At the 2021 census, the built-up area of Sunderland had a population of 168,315, and the wider borough had a population of 274,200. The 2011 census had defined a much larger Sunderland built-up area covering all the built-up areas in the borough and some areas beyond it, notably including Chester-le-Street.
The table below compares Sunderland's ethnic make up to the North East England region.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!2021 Census Ethnic Groups
!White
!Asian,Asian British,Asian Welsh
!Black,Black British,Black Welsh,Caribbean or African
!Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
!Other ethnic groups
|-
|Sunderland
|94.6%
|3.0%
|1.0%
|0.9%
|0.5%
|-
|North East England
|93.0%
|3.7%
|1.0%
|1.3%
|1.0%
|}
The majority of the BAME population live in Sunderland East – more specifically Hendon and Millfield where there is a larger population of Bangladeshi/Bangladeshi British and Indian/Indian British than elsewhere. There is also a significant Chinese population in these areas. Sunderland West has a population of Indian, Pakistani and other Asian ethnicities. Sunderland North has a substantial Chinese population, notably in St.Peter's. This is believed to be influenced by the student
population in which:
- 147 nationalities are represented
- 51.27% students are White, 13.92% Asian, 12.78% Asian Other and 5.12% Black African, with other ethnicities in much smaller numbers
While BAME populations are more concentrated in some areas within Sunderland, ethnic diversity is too low in the city to determine if any groups are particularly segregated.
Religion
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Hierarchy
! Denomination
! Top tier !! 2nd !! 3rd !! 4th
|-
| Church of England || Province of York || Diocese of Durham || Archdeaconry of Sunderland || Deanery of Wearmouth
|-
| Roman Catholic || Archdiocese of Liverpool || Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
|colspan=2| Sunderland and East Durham Vicariate
|-
| Methodist
|colspan=2|District of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
|colspan=2|Circuit of Sunderland
|}
The 2011 census recorded that 70.2% of the population identified as Christian, 1.32% as Muslim, 0.29% as Sikh, 0.22% as Hindu, 0.19% as Buddhist, 0.02% as Jewish, and 21.90% as having no religion.
The Stake Center for the Sunderland Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is in Sunderland.
Jewish heritage in the city, once part of a thriving community, can be dated back to around 1750, when a number of Jewish merchants from across the UK and Europe settled in Sunderland, The community has been in slow decline since the mid-20th century. Many Sunderland Jews left for stronger Jewish communities in Britain, including Gateshead, or to Israel. The Jewish primary school, the Menorah School, closed in July 1983, and the yeshiva moved to Gateshead in June 1988. The synagogue on Ryhope Road, opened in 1928, closed at the end of March 2006. (See also History of the Jews in North East England.) The Jewish population of the Sunderland Metropolitan Borough is continually diminishing, as the Jewish population fell from 114 people in 2001, to 87 people in 2021.
In 1998, following the grant of city status to Sunderland, the erstwhile parish church of Bishopwearmouth (St Michael's) was redesignated as Sunderland Minster with a city-wide role. It was believed to have been the first creation of a minster church in England since the Reformation.
Economy
Following the industrial decline of the 1970s to early 1980s and collapse of the local shipbuilding industry, Sunderland's mid-1980s economic situation began to improve. Japanese car manufacturer Nissan opened the Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK factory in 1986, and the first Nissan Bluebird car was produced later that year.
Regeneration
Since the mid-1980s Sunderland has undergone massive regeneration, particularly around the City Centre and the river corridor.
In 2000, the Bridges shopping centre was extended towards Crowtree Road and the former Central Bus Station, attracting national chain stores. This was followed by adjacent redevelopments on Park Lane.
The former shipyards along the Wear were transformed with a mixture of residential, commercial and leisure facilities including St Peter's Campus of the University of Sunderland, university accommodation along the Fish Quay on the South side of the river, the North Haven housing and marina development, the National Glass Centre, the Stadium of Light and Hylton Riverside Retail Park. Also in 2007, the Echo 24 luxury apartments opened on Pann's Bank overlooking the river.
Sunderland Corporation's massive post-war housing estate developments at Farringdon, Pennywell and Grindon have all passed into the ownership of Gentoo Group (previously 'Sunderland Housing Group'), a private company and a Registered Social Landlord.
The Port of Sunderland, owned by the city council, has been allocated for medium-term redevelopment with a focus on mixed-use industry.
Sunderland City Council's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) outlines a number of sites around the city for regeneration. The plans are supported by Sunderland Arc, an urban regeneration company funded by the City council, One NorthEast (defunct) and the Homes and Communities Agency.
; Sunniside
thumb|The former General Post Office building on Sunniside Gardens in 2019
In 2004, redevelopment work began in the Sunniside area in the east-end of the city centre, including a multiplex cinema, a multi-storey car park, restaurants, a casino and tenpin bowling. Originally the River Quarter, the site was renamed Limelight in 2005, and renamed in 2008, when it became Sunniside Leisure. Sunniside Gardens were landscaped, and a number of new cafes, bars and restaurants were opened. Up-market residential apartments were developed, including the Echo 24 building.
;Vaux development and Keel Square
thumb|Keel Square in 2017
Following the closure of the Vaux brewery in 1999, a brownfield site lay dormant in the centre of Sunderland. The land was subject to dispute between supermarket chain Tesco, who bought the site in 2001, and Sunderland arc, who submitted plans for its redevelopment in 2002. During formal negotiations, Tesco stated they would be willing to sell the land to arc, if an alternative city centre site could be found. Possibilities include Holmeside Triangle, and the Sunderland Retail Park in Roker. Arc originally hoped to begin development in 2010. In 2013 in the area opposite the Vaux site, Sunderland City Council announced the Keel Square project, a new public space designed to commemorate Sunderand's maritime heritage, which was completed in May 2015. Construction commenced in 2014.
;Stadium Village
Sunderland A.F.C. has been a major symbol of the area and a contributor to the local economy since the late 19th century. The club was one of the most successful and best supported clubs in the English game during this era, with its home at Roker Park holding more than 70,000 spectators at its peak. However, the FA Cup triumph of 1973 would prove to be the club's only postwar major trophy to date, and after its relegation in 1958 the club frequently bounced between the top two divisions of English football, and in 1987 and again in 2018 suffered relegation to the third tier of English football. The club played at Roker Park for 99 years until the completion of the new Stadium of Light at Monkwearmouth on the banks of the River Wear in 1997. The new stadium seated more than 42,000 on its completion, and has since been expanded to hold some 49,000 spectators. Sunderland's relatively high attendances have been a major boost to the local economy – averaging at more than 30,000 even during the club's most recent spell in the third tier of English football.
Redevelopment of the Monkwearmouth Colliery site, which sits on the north bank of the river Wear opposite the Vaux site, began in the mid-1990s with the creation of the Stadium of Light. In 2008 the Sunderland Aquatic Centre opened adjacent to the Stadium of Light, containing the only Olympic-size swimming pool between Leeds and Edinburgh. The Sheepfolds industrial estate occupies a large area of land between the Stadium and the Wearmouth Bridge. Sunderland Arc were in the process of purchasing land in the Sheepfolds, with a view to relocate the businesses and redevelop the site. The emphasis of development plans included further sporting facilities, in order to create a Sports Village. Other plans included a hotel, residential accommodation, and a footbridge linking the site with the Vaux development.
;Grove and Transport Corridor
The Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) is a proposed transport link from the A19, through the city centre, to the port. A major phase of the plan was the creation of a new bridge, the Northern Spire Bridge, which links the A1231 Wessington Way on the north of the river with the Grove site in Pallion, on the south of the river. In 2008, Sunderland City Council offered the residents of Sunderland the opportunity to vote on the design of the bridge. The choices were a iconic cable-stayed bridge, which would result in a temporary increase in council tax, or a simple box structure which would be within the council's budget. The results of the consultation were inconclusive, with residents keen to have an iconic bridge, but reluctant to have a subsequent increase in tax to fund it. Regardless of the ultimate design of the new bridge, the landing point will be the former Grove Cranes site in Pallion. Plans for this site focus around the creation of a new residential area, with homes, community buildings, commercial and retail space.
Former
Major
thumbnail|left|A group of boys who worked on the construction of a Standard ship at a yard in Sunderland during the First World War
thumb|right|A ship (Radiant II) launched into the River Wear by [[Austin & Pickersgill, 29 March 1961]]
Once hailed as the "Largest Shipbuilding Town in the World", ships were built on the Wear from at least 1346 onwards and by the mid-18th century Sunderland was one of the chief shipbuilding towns in the country. Sunderland Docks was the home of operations for the shipbuilding industry on Wearside. The Port of Sunderland was significantly expanded in the 1850s with the construction of Hudson Dock to designs by River Wear Commissioner's Engineer John Murray, with consultancy by Robert Stephenson. One famous vessel was the Torrens, the clipper in which Joseph Conrad sailed, and on which he began his first novel. She was one of the most famous ships of her time and can claim to be the finest ship ever launched from a Sunderland yard.
left|thumb|[[Sunderland Docks in 1969]]
Between 1939 and 1945 the Wear yards launched 245 merchant ships totalling 1.5 million tons, a quarter of the merchant tonnage produced in the UK at this period. Competition from overseas caused a downturn in demand for Sunderland built ships toward the end of the 20th century. The last shipyard in Sunderland closed on 7 December 1988.
Sunderland, part of the Durham coalfield, has a coal-mining heritage that dates back centuries. At its peak in 1923, 170,000 miners were employed in County Durham alone, as labourers from all over Britain, including many from Scotland and Ireland, entered the region. As demand for coal slipped following World War II, mines began to close across the region, causing mass unemployment. The last coal mine closed in 1994. The site of the last coal mine, Wearmouth Colliery, is now occupied by the Stadium of Light, and a miner's Davy lamp monument stands outside of the ground to honour the site's mining heritage. Documentation relating to the region's coalmining heritage are stored at the North East England Mining Archive and Resource Centre (NEEMARC).
Minor
thumb|right|The [[Liebherr crane factory is the last remaining heavy industry on the River Wear in Sunderland.]]
As with the coal-mining and shipbuilding, overseas competition has forced the closure of all of Sunderland's glass-making factories. Corning Glass Works, in Sunderland for 120 years, closed on 31 March 2007 and in January 2007, the Pyrex manufacturing site also closed, bringing to an end commercial glass-making in the city. However, there has been a modest rejuvenation with the opening of the National Glass Centre which, amongst other things, provides international glass makers with working facilities and a shop to showcase their work, predominantly in the artistic rather than functional field.
In 1855, John Candlish opened a bottleworks, producing glass bottles, with 6 sites at nearby Seaham and at Diamond Hall, Sunderland.
Vaux Breweries was established in the town centre in the 1880s and for 110 years was a major employer. Following a series of consolidations in the British Brewing industry, however, the brewery was finally closed in July 1999. Vaux in Sunderland and Wards in Sheffield had been part of the Vaux Group, but with the closure of both breweries it was re-branded The Swallow Group, concentrating on the hotel side of the business. This was subject to a successful take-over by Whitbread PLC in the autumn of 2000. It is now a brownfield site and this is a derelict site in an urban area.
Education
thumb|University of Sunderland
Sunderland Polytechnic was founded in 1969, becoming the University of Sunderland in 1992. The institution currently has over 17,000 students. The university is split into two campuses; the City Campus (site of the original Polytechnic) is just to the west of the city centre, as is the main university library and the main administrative buildings. The 'Award-Winning' St Peter's Riverside Campus is located on the north banks of the river Wear, next to the National Glass Centre and houses the School of Business, Law and Psychology, as well as Computing and Technology and The Media Centre. The University of Sunderland was named the top university in England for providing the best student experience by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) in 2006. Since 2001 Sunderland has been named the best new university in England by The Guardian and Government performance indicators showed Sunderland as the best new university in England for the quality, range and quantity of its research.
Sunderland College is a further education establishment with campuses located at the Bede centre on Durham Road, Hylton, Doxford International Business Park and 'Phoenix House' in the city centre. It has over 14,000 students, and based on exam results is one of the most successful colleges. St Peter's Sixth Form College, next to St Peter's Church and the university, opened in September 2008. The college is a partnership between the three Sunderland North schools and City of Sunderland College.
There are eighteen secondary schools in the Sunderland area, predominantly comprehensives. According to exam results, the most successful was St Robert of Newminster Catholic School, a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Washington. However, comprehensive schools also thrive, notably the Roman Catholic single-sex schools St Anthony's (for girls) and St Aidan's (for boys). Both continue to attain high exam results.
There are seventy-six primary schools in Sunderland. According to the 'Value Added' measure, the most successful is Mill Hill Primary School, in Doxford Park.
Transport
Heavy and light rail
thumb|right|Sunderland railway and Metro station
Sunderland station is served by four train operating companies:
- Grand Central operates five direct inter-city trains to London King's Cross Monday-Saturday, with four on Sunday, taking about 3 hours 30 minutes.
- Northern Trains provides services between , , , and .
- Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive owns and operates the Tyne & Wear Metro, under the Nexus brand. The city has several stops on the Green line between and , including at , and before the city's main station with the Park Lane Interchange, , and . Trains run every 12–15 minutes, depending on the time of day, at each of the nine stations.
is a 30-minute Metro or train ride from Sunderland city centre, which facilitates connecting services to London King's Cross every half hour that take approximately 2 hours 45 minutes. It also provides regular services to , , , Manchester Piccadilly, , and beyond.
Sunderland station opened in 1879 and completely redesigned for England's 1966 World Cup footfall to get to Roker Park. It is underground
In March 2014, Metro owner Nexus proposed an extension of the network by an 'on-street' tram link which would connect north to South Shields and Doxford Park to the west.
thumb|right|Pallion Metro station
{| class="wikitable"
|+Sunderland railway station's connections
!Operators!!Services!!Lines!!Terminus||Other stations
|-
|Northern Trains
|An hourly service||Durham Coast Line (DCL), Tyne Valley Line and Esk Valley Line|| and ||, and
|-
|Grand Central Trains
|Five (four on Sunday) trains per day||DCL (south), Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line and the East Coast Main Line (ECML)||It is a terminus and ||, , and
|-
|Tyne and Wear Metro
|Up to five (four on evening and Sunday services) trains per hour on||Green Line|| and ||Newcastle
|}
Roads
thumb|The [[Northern Spire]]
thumb|right|Illustration of the main roads through Sunderland
There are five main roads which connect the city:
- The city's main road is the A19, which is a dual carriageway running north-to-south west of the city, crossing the River Wear at Hylton. The road goes links Doncaster with the north of Newcastle upon Tyne and the A1 to Edinburgh; it passes Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and York to A168 and the A1M. The A19 originally ran through Sunderland city centre until a bypass was built in the 1970s, renaming the old route to the A1018.
- The A690 Durham Road terminates in the city centre and runs to Crook, County Durham, via the city of Durham.
- The A1231 (Sunderland Highway) begins in the city centre, crosses the Northern Spire Bridge and runs west through Washington to the A1. From the north end of the Northern Spire Bridge to the A19 is a 50 mph limit. From the A19 to the A1 is national speed limit.
- The A1018 and A183 roads both start in the centre of South Shields and enter Sunderland from the north, before merging to cross the Wearmouth Bridge. The A1018 follows a direct route from Shields to Sunderland, the A183 follows the coast. After crossing the bridge, the A1018 follows a relatively straight path to the south of Sunderland where it merges with the A19. The A183 becomes Chester Road and heads west out of the city to the A1 at Chester-le-Street. In Autumn 2007, the Southern Radial Route was opened. This is a bypass of the A1018 through Grangetown and Ryhope – a stretch that commonly suffered from congestion, especially during rush hour. The bypass starts just south of Ryhope and runs parallel to the cliff tops into Hendon, largely avoiding residential areas.
The Sunderland strategic transport corridor project is an ongoing investment to the city's road infrastructure. The scheme improves transport links around the city, ensuring continuous dual carriageway between the A19 road and the port of Sunderland, as well as the Northern Spire bridge built over the Wear between Pallion (south) and Castletown (north).
Buses
thumbnail|right|Go North East buses at Park Lane Interchange
The majority of bus services in Sunderland are provided by Stagecoach in Sunderland and Go North East, with a handful of services provided by Arriva North East. Cross-country and inter-city routes are operated mainly by National Express and Flixbus.
A multimillion-pound transport interchange at Park Lane was opened on 2 May 1999 by the then Brookside actor Michael Starke. With 750,000 passengers per year, it is the busiest bus and coach station in Britain after Victoria Coach Station in Central London and has won several awards for innovative design.
A new Metro station was built underneath the bus concourse to provide a direct interchange as part of the extension to South Hylton in 2002.
Cycling
There are a number of cycle routes that run through and around Sunderland. The National Cycle Network National Route 1 runs from Ryhope in the south, through the centre of the city and then along the coast towards South Shields. Britain's most popular long-distance cycle route – The 'C2C' Sea to Sea Cycle Route – traditionally starts or ends when the cyclist dips their wheel in the sea on Roker beach. The 'W2W' 'Wear-to-Walney' route and the 'Two-Rivers' (Tyne and Wear) route also terminate in Sunderland.
Airports
thumb|right|The Red Arrows display team perform at the 2009 Sunderland International Airshow
Newcastle Airport is a 55-minute Metro ride from Sunderland city centre; there is a Metro train connecting with the airport every 12–15minutes in both directions until about 11pm, Monday-Sunday.
Teesside International Airport can be reached in less than one hour by car.
Up until 2020, the city hosted the Sunderland International Airshow. It took place along the sea front at Roker and Seaburn.
Port
thumb|Sunderland harbour viewed from the north dock
The Port of Sunderland is the second largest municipally owned port in the United Kingdom. The port offers a total of 17 quays, which handle cargoes including forest products, non-ferrous metals, steel, aggregates and refined oil products, limestone, chemicals and maritime cranes.
Culture
Dialect and accent
The dialect of Sunderland is known as Mackem, and contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive words and pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Mackem dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon population. Although the accent has much in common with Geordie, the dialect spoken in Newcastle, there are some distinctive differences.
A few Sunderland dialect words:
- Nee – No
- Bosh – Problem
- Marra – Mate
- Ha'way – Come on (Not to be confused with Geordie's Howay)
- Knack – Hurt
- Git – Very (Used to emphasize something so 'very good' becomes 'git good')
- Claes – Clothes
Attractions and events
Notable attractions for visitors to Sunderland include the 14th century Hylton Castle and the beaches of Roker and Seaburn. The National Glass Centre opened in 1998, reflecting Sunderland's distinguished history of glass-making.
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, on Borough Road, was the first municipally funded museum in the country outside London.
Every year the city hosts a large Remembrance Day memorial service, the largest in the UK outside London in 2006.
Sunderland celebrates an annual Restaurant week, where city centre restaurants provide some of the best plates at low costs.
Literature and art
thumb|Sunniside district in the city centre
Lewis Carroll was a frequent visitor to the area. He wrote most of Jabberwocky at Whitburn as well as "The Walrus and the Carpenter". Some parts of the area are also widely believed to be the inspiration for his Alice in Wonderland stories, such as Hylton Castle and Backhouse Park. There is a statue to Carroll in Whitburn library. Lewis Carroll was also a visitor to the Rectory of Holy Trinity Church, Southwick; then a township independent of Sunderland. Carroll's connection with Sunderland, and the area's history, is documented in Bryan Talbot's 2007 graphic novel Alice in Sunderland. More recently, Sunderland-born Terry Deary, writer of the series of Horrible Histories books, has achieved fame and success, and many others such as thriller writer Sheila Quigley, are following his lead.
The Salford-born painter L. S. Lowry was a frequent visitor, staying in the Seaburn Hotel in Sunderland. Many of his paintings of seascapes and shipbuilding are based on Wearside scenes. The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Fawcett Street and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens showcase exhibitions and installations from up-and-coming and established artists alike, with the latter holding an extensive collection of Lowry. The National Glass Centre on Liberty Way also exhibits a number of glass sculptures.
Media, film and television
Sunderland has a local newspaper: the daily tabloid The Sunderland Echo, founded in 1873.
It also has its own commercial station, Nation Radio North East, formerly known as Sun FM, an independent station but now owned by Nation Broadcasting who acquired the station from the UKRD Group, a student-led community radio station, Spark, and a hospital radio station – Radio Sunderland for Hospitals, and can receive other north-eastern independent radio stations Hits Radio North East, Greatest Hits Radio North East, Capital North East, Smooth North East and Heart North East. The regional BBC radio station is BBC Radio Newcastle. The city is covered by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV's Tyne Tees franchise, which has a regional office in the university's media centre.
Sunderland's inaugural film festival took place in December 2003 at the Bonded Warehouse building on Sunderland riverside, in spite of the lack of any cinema facilities in the city at that time, featuring the films of local and aspiring directors as well as re-showings of acclaimed works, such as Alan Bleasdale's The Monocled Mutineer, accompanied by analysis. By the time of the second festival commencing on 21 January 2005, a new cinema multiplex had opened in Sunderland to provide a venue which allowed the festival to showcase over twenty films.
In March 2024, Crown Works Studios was given government backing to pave the way to create thousands of jobs across the north-east of England. The development forms part of a major regeneration scheme taking place in Wearside. Planning firm Lichfields said the studios would put the North East "on the map" as an international centre for broadcast and film production. Main financial backers for the Crown Works Studios include Fulwell Entertainment and the United Kingdom government. Cain initially invested in the project but withdrew from it in June 2025.
Music, dance and kites
In January 2025, Sunderland Music City announced that its bid to join the Music Cities Network has been successful, with Sunderland now a fully fledged member of the global collective. The accreditation will make Sunderland only the second city in the UK to join the network, following in the footsteps of Manchester. The Music Cities Network, established in 2016, connects cities worldwide to promote the music industry's growth, economic development, and cultural exchange. Internationally, Sunderland now sits alongside legendary music spots like Sydney and Berlin. Sunderland's place among the roster of international Music Cities is an acknowledgement of Wearside's amazing musical heritage and marks the ongoing commitment to nurturing the city's dynamic music scene and fostering a robust creative economy in the area. Inclusion in the network gives members access to collaborative opportunities, resources, and advocacy that will help the city build on its music ecosystem and support cultural, social, and economic development.
In 2013, local band Frankie and The Heartstrings opened a temporary pop up record store in the city, Pop Recs Ltd. Initially only intended to remain open for a fortnight, the store remains open and has hosted live performances from acts including the Cribs, the Vaccines and the Charlatans.
The Sunderland Stadium of Light, home to Sunderland AFC, is recognised internationally as a major stadium concert venue. Headlining acts have included Oasis, Take That, Pink, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Rihanna, One Direction, Foo Fighters and Beyoncé. The Empire Theatre and Firestation play host to music acts. Venues such as Independent, a city-centre nightclub/music venue, satisfy music lovers need eclectic tastes and need to hear the next generation of bands.
Since 2009, Sunderland: Live in the city has played host to a series of free and ticketed live music events throughout venues in the city centre.
In May 2005, Sunderland played host to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend concert at Herrington Country Park, attended by 30,000 visitors and which featured Foo Fighters, Kasabian, KT Tunstall, Chemical Brothers and the Black Eyed Peas.
The Manor Quay' the students' union nightclub on St Peter's Riverside at the University of Sunderland, has hosted the Arctic Monkeys, Maxïmo Park, 911, the Levellers and Girls Aloud. In 2009, the club was taken into private ownership under the name Campus and hosted N-Dubz, Ocean Colour Scene, Little Boots, Gary Numan and Showaddywaddy but has since been returned to the university where it has become the Interfaith Chaplaincy Centre.
The former students' union Wearmouth Hall hosted Voice of the Beehive, Manic Street Preachers, The Primitives and Radiohead before closing in 1992.
Sunderland musicians that have gone on to reach international fame include Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and all four members of Kenickie, whose vocalist Lauren Laverne later became known as a TV presenter. In recent years, the underground music scene in Sunderland has helped promote the likes of Frankie & the Heartstrings, the Futureheads, the Golden Virgins and Field Music. Other Mackem musicians include punk rockers the Toy Dolls ("Nellie the Elephant", December 1984); oi! punk band Red Alert; melodic hardcore punk band Leatherface; the lead singer of dance outfit Olive, Ruth Ann Boyle ("You're Not Alone", May 1997); and A Tribe of Toffs ("John Kettley is a Weatherman", December 1988).
Sunderland has also hosted a free International Festival of Kites, Music and Dance, which attracted kite-makers from around the world to Northumbria Playing Fields, Washington.
Theatres and performance venues
thumb|right|upright=0.75|The Sunderland Empire
alt=A view of the artwork for The Bunker, Sunderland - home of music in the city since 1982|thumb|223x223px|The Bunker, Sunderland
The Sunderland Empire Theatre opened in 1907 on High Street West in the city centre. It is the largest theatre in between Edinburgh and Manchester, and completed a comprehensive refurbishment in 2004. Operated by international entertainment group Live Nation, the Empire is the only theatre between Glasgow and Leeds with sufficient capacity to accommodate large West End productions. It is where British comic actor Sid James died of a heart attack whilst on stage in 1976.
The Bunker is the only venue in Sunderland where you can rehearse, record, learn and perform, all in one location. Born as a youth project in 1980, finally settling in its current home in 1983, new music talent can practice and perform in the same building that has hosted gigs by The Clash, Bjork, Chumbawamba and Billy Bragg. The Bunker has a history synonymous with the development of music making in the North East.
Independent is popular grass roots music venue in Sunderland, nurturing young talent, supporting bands and giving people a stage to play their first ever show. Open since the early 2000s it has played host to not only a range of up-and coming talent, but acts such as The Zutons, Jamie T, Klaxons as well as local heroes such as The Futureheads and Field Music.
The Fire Station is a live music and performance auditorium that complements its Edwardian neighbour, the Empire Theatre. It is operated by Sunderland Culture. In 2017 the Sunderland MAC Trust restored Sunderland's 1908 Central Fire Station, vacant since 1992, and converted it into a cultural hub with dance and literacy studios, teaching rooms and a bar/restaurant. The Fire Station auditorium is a 500 seat/800 standing venue attached to the restored building which opened in December 2021.
The Royalty Theatre on Chester Road is the home to the amateur Royalty Theatre Group who also put on a number of low-budget productions throughout the year. Film producer David Parfitt belonged to this company and is now a patron of the theatre.
The Sunniside area plays host to a number of smaller theatrical workshops and production houses.
Landmarks
Landmarks in Sunderland include the Wearmouth Bridge, Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge, Northern Spire Bridge, Keel Crossing, Queen Alexandra Bridge, Penshaw Monument, Sunderland Minster, and the Tunstall Hills.
Sport
Football
thumb|right|View of the [[Stadium of Light]]
The city is well known for its passion for football.
The football team, Sunderland A.F.C. was elected to the Football League in 1890. Sunderland supporters are one of the oldest fan bases in England: in 2019 it was reported that despite being in League One, Sunderland's average gates were higher than those of such teams as Lyon, Napoli, Roma, Valencia, Juventus, and Porto. After relegations from the FA Premier League and the EFL Championship, documented in the streaming series Sunderland 'Til I Die the club played four consecutive seasons in EFL League One. It played in the EFL Championship since the 2022–23 season until the 2024–2025 season, in which it was promoted back to the Premier League through the play-offs for the first time in eight years. It is based at the 49,000-seat Stadium of Light, which was opened in 1997.
Sunderland AFC's longest stadium occupancy so far was of Roker Park for 99 years beginning in 1898, with relocation taking place due to the stadium's confined location and the need to build an all-seater stadium.
Sunderland A.F.C. Women is one of the north-east's top women's football teams. They currently play in the 2nd tier of English women's football, the Women's Super League 2.
The city also has three non-league sides, Sunderland Ryhope Community Association F.C., and Ryhope Colliery Welfare F.C., both of the Northern League Division One as well as Sunderland West End FC of the Wearside League, who play at the Ford Quarry Complex.
Rugby and Cricket
The Ashbrooke ground was opened on 30 May 1887. Sunderland's amateur Rugby and Cricket clubs are both based in Ashbrooke.
Boxing & MMA
Sunderland has a vibrant combat sports community with a number of active clubs such as Sunderland Amateur Boxing Club, Lambton Street ABC and Roker Rough House.
Kiaran MacDonald picked up a silver at both the 2022 European Championships and Commonwealth Games. Other talented boxers from Sunderland include former Olympians Tony Jeffries, Josh Kelly, and Billy Hardy, and Layla Straughan. Notable Mixed Martial Artists who have competed out of Sunderland are Andy Ogle, Ian Freeman, Phil De Fries, Mick Parkin, Alex Enlund and Ross Pearson.
Swimming
thumb|upright=1.5|right|Sunderland Aquatic Centre, located next to the Stadium of Light, holds the only Olympic-sized swimming pool in North-East England.
On 18 April 2008, the Sunderland Aquatic Centre was opened. Constructed at a cost of £20 million, it is the only Olympic sized 50 m pool between Leeds and Edinburgh and has six diving boards, which stand at 1 m, 3 m and 5 m.
The Crowtree Leisure Centre has also played host to a number of important boxing matches and snooker championships including the 2003 Snooker World Trickshot and Premier League Final. In September 2005, BBC TV cameras captured international boxing bouts featuring local boxers David Dolan, Stuart Kennedy and Tony Jeffries. The latter became Sunderland's first Olympic medallist when he won a bronze medal in the light heavyweight boxing category for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Athletics
In 2023, the British leg of the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series was hosted in Sunderland, bringing elite swim, bike, run to Sunderland. The beach front at Roker welcomed the triathletes from around the world as well as thousands of amateur participants over the weekend of 29–30 July 2023 for a festival of swim, bike, and run.
Sunderland Harriers Athletics Club based at Silksworth Sports Complex. 800 m runner Gavin Massingham represented the club at the AAA Championships in 2005.
The first Sunderland city 10 km was held in 2011, with just over 1500 taking part. By 2021 the Sunderland City Runs welcomed 4000 participants to the city streets in a celebration of running across a range of distances. Entrants can choose the flat and fast 10K, a spring Half-Marathon, or the Active Sunderland Big 3K.
On 25 June 2006, the first Great Women's Run took place along Sunderland's coastline. Among the field which lined up to start the race were Olympic silver medallists Sonia O'Sullivan of the Republic of Ireland and Gete Wami of Ethiopia, who eventually won the race. The race quickly became an annual fixture in the city's sporting schedule, with races in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the race was relaunched as the Great North 10K Run, allowing male competitors to take part for the first time, on 12 July.
Notable residents
International relations
Sunderland is twinned with:
- Essen, Germany
- Harbin, China
- Saint-Nazaire, France
- Washington, D.C., United States
Sunderland is the only non-capital city that is twinned with Washington, D.C., as it includes the town of Washington, the ancestral home of George Washington's family.