2024 – The Year Review

Well, it’s a wrap for 2024, and what a year it’s been for Leeds. There’s been something for everyone, from fantastic new openings to fantastical light displays. Can 2025 maintain the celebratory air of 2024? We hope so. Here’s a roundup of this year’s highlights.

2024’s Best Attractions…

While shopping, food and drink are strong reasons to visit Leeds. This year’s exciting attractions have given an added incentive to spend time in the city. 

Monopoly Leeds Takeover turned the city into a giant Monopoly board for five weeks over the summer. More than 100,000 people joined in the game, in which Mr Monopoly ‘bought’ the city. The only way to buy it back? Complete a series of challenges across the city. Visitors got plenty of selfie opportunities with giant Monopoly icons, including a giant version of everyone’s favourite, the silver dog, as they discovered new Leeds locations. Watch this space for similar LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District) events in 2025…

Autumn saw the return of Leeds International Festival of Ideas (LIFI), a platform for idea generation, discovery, and discussion in response to the world’s most pressing challenges. Opened by Nile Rodgers and closed by Kate Adie, other big names included Georgie, Barratt, Matt Willis, Rylan Clarke, Carol Vorderman, Christine McGuiness and Tim Spector. LIFI24 also welcomed young contributors like activist and founder of the neurodivergent community UNMASKED, Ellie Middleton.

It was always going to be a good one. And boy, was it thought-provoking. LIFI covered diverse topics like celebrity, addiction, gut health and war. And they were well-received by a packed-out Playhouse full of inquisitive minds open to listening and contributing––if they could only catch the squishy cuboid mike. Gutted you missed it? LIFI will return in 2025. Sign up for the newsletter for updates…

Cosmic experience, Leodis Space Agency, took visitors on a trip into new dimensions of wonder and excitement during the Easter holidays. Leeds became a hub of interstellar activity with installations and interactive exhibits spread across key city locations. The LeedsBID project, brought together with the help of Keighley set and prop builder Norse Sky, took the whole family on a cosmic adventure.

A Leodis launch site and incredible illuminated solar system on Briggate; a lunar wonderland at Trinity Leeds; Alien Zoo, an interactive mixed reality (MR) exhibit at the Merrion Centre and a programme of space fun at Leeds City Museum, including an interactive planetarium, where the out-of-this-world activities on offer. Visitors of all ages had an absolute blast!

Leeds’ popular celebration, Light Night Leeds didn’t disappoint in 2024, with large-scale, spell-binding projections and installations popping up around the city. Parallels by Architecture Social Club proved a fitting beacon for the newly re-opened Tetley (now a Kirkstall brewery venue). As anticipated, Monad by Anastasia Isachen was a standout highlight against the backdrop of Leeds Dock.

The Queens Hotel was transformed in the run-up to Christmas with the spectacular Christmas animation, To Leeds, With Love. Narrated by renowned British actor Richard Armitage and written by TV writer Lisa Holdsworth, this year’s animation reimagined “The 12 Days of Christmas” as a magical holiday adventure for Leeds’ beloved Gingerbread Man. It takes something special to captivate hundreds of thousands of people, but visual pioneers Onionlab and LeedsBID pulled it off for the second year running. If you’re reading this before 22 December, you may still have time to catch a showing…

Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) returned to delight Leeds’ cinema fans. As to be expected from the popular annual event – now in its 38th year – previews of the year’s most anticipated films lit up screens across the city. In 2024, Fanomenon, LIFF’s home for fantasy sci-fi, horror, dark comedy and cult films, expanded and introduced a new competition for fantastic genre features. 

2024’s Top New Openings…

Shopping 

2024 was the year of high street moves, including not just one but two brand-new flagship store openings. Zara relocated from Briggate to Leeds Trinity in a long-awaited move showcasing its collections across three expansive floors. Back on Briggate, Flannels transformed the former Debenhams building into a super-luxurious immersive shopping experience. North Home also opened its heaven-scented three-floor concept store in the Country Arcade, and Hobbs moved from Victoria Quarter to Victoria Gate. 

Still, it wasn’t just high-end stores having their moment. Leeds’ thriving pre-loved scene grew with the opening of independent vintage stores like Glass Onion, North South Vintage and Honey and Goods In.

Food and drink

At the same time, Leeds’ food and drink scene exploded, with major chains and independents opening across the city. There are way too many to mention here (see our Leeds In Bloom guides for full listings), but here are a couple of standout themes: 

New social concepts arrived. White Cloth Hall, the new all-day food and drink venue from the team behind Whitelocks, was named on The Times list of the seven best food halls in the UK. And it’s not the only new place in which to gather. Holding Patterns in Albion Place opened as a listening, reading and meeting space. Indulgent pop-up street food residencies opened at Green Room and The Junc Shed. And venues like Sixes Social Cricket in Headingley challenged the ever-popular Flight Club as sports socials. There’s still more to come in 2025…

Favourite independents expanded. Former pop-ups ThatZiki and Homeboy Pizza Co. took up permanent residences in 2024. Popular Otley bakery Underground Bakery opened a new store on Call Lane and legendary Leeds coffee spot Laynes started opening in the evening. It just gets better in 2025. Leeds favourites All Things Dough (Doh’hut and Things in Bread), Tharavadu and The Swine That Dines are all opening new premises soon…

Tea shops proved there’s always time for tea. HEYTEA opened on Briggate, CUPP at Trinity Leeds and Tiger Sugar on The Headrow, proving that Leeds’ appetite for bubble, boba and speciality teas is strong. Cheese tea, anyone? Invented by HEYTEA, it brings new-style tea culture from Jiangbianli, China, to the forefront of the Leeds café scene.

2024’s Best Events…

Festivals

Events large and small graced indoor and open-air stages all over Leeds throughout the year. Leeds Lieder Festival kicked things off, marking 20 years of musical excellence at various city venues in April. By May, Leeds’ music festival scene got into its swing with popular classics Mint Fest, Leeds Jazz Fest, Live at Leeds, Slam Dunk Festival and, of course, Leeds Fest.

But it’s not just music that set the Leeds festival scene apart this year. The diversity of events on offer created a truly inclusive festival season. From Hop City to DogFest, North Leeds Food Fest to Leeds Digital Festival, and Leeds West Indian Carnival to Leeds Pride, there was something for everyone to get involved in and enjoy.

Festivals may have dominated the summer, but there were plenty of other outdoor events to attend. Millennium Square hosted the summer series Sounds of the City and Cinema in the Square and was home to the Euro 2024 Fanzone, welcoming football fans from all over Leeds. Leeds’ outdoor entertainment continued into October with Adventure Cinema Presents screenings at Harewood House––for those brave enough to wrap up and embrace the autumn air. 

Kirkstall Abbey Comedy Festival, a first-of-its-kind large-scale comedy festival, also took place outdoors with a stellar lineup including Katherine Ryan, Ross Noble, and Yorkshire’s own Maisie Adams. It was a huge hit. And the sun actually shone; we’re not joking.

On stages across Leeds

A multitude of major stars in comedy and music graced Leeds’ best venues throughout 2024. Dr John Cooper Clarke celebrated 50 years in showbiz at the O2 Academy early in the year. Cirque du Soleil’s OVO and iconic British band Take That wowed crowds at the First Direct Arena in the same month. 

Blink 182, Lana Del Ray, Anne-Marie, Paloma Faith, Busted, Manic Street Preachers and Madness were just some of the big names to play Leeds stages over the summer.

And while national treasure Peter Kay was always going to be a big draw, local comedian Leigh Francis was another popular comedy fixture on the Leeds circuit. Leigh brought home his first-ever live tour, My First Time, along with Keith Lemon, Avid Merrion and friends.

2024s Best Exhibitions and Workshops

As mentioned up top, a recurring theme for Leeds was the arrival of more social experiences. Whether cooking dinner over a steaming hotpot at Tao, mastering the art of fun at Pinot and Picasso, or stopping by Rory’s Saturday Club with the kids, 2024 was all about gathering with others to try something new.

Speaking of newness, You Choose was an unmissable exhibition at the Thackray Museum of Medicine (in collaboration with the University of Leeds’ LivingBodiesObjects project funded by the Wellcome Trust). From bionic eyes to artificial tongues, visitors got to check out mind-boggling innovations from the past and present and explore the cutting-edge technologies set to change the world of medicine. 

You could, too. There’s still time to catch it in that awkward period between Christmas and New Year! It’s on until 5 January… 

2024 Best Leeds Markets…

Lotherton, Temple Newsam and Kirkstall Abbey hosted weekend artisan markets throughout the summer. In the city, Fayre in the Square at Wellington Place gave a fresh take on a traditional farmers market, with market stalls, music, family-friendly activities and a pop-up bar.

Wellington Place was also home to LeedsBID’s Summer Roadshow (also at Sovereign Square and Central Square), where office workers tried their luck with Giant Jenga and Connect 4, badminton and coconut shies. Free and plentiful ice cream kept players cool and the fun flowing.There’s still time to catch Leeds Christmas Markets (until Sunday 22 December). Why not combine a trip to the City Square Market with a viewing of To Leeds, With Love?

Top new podcasts and WTL originals 

381 Miles: Leeds to Paris explored the fascinating connections, stories and adventures of local elite athletes’ journeys to the Olympic games. Featuring local legend, triathlete Jonny, fellow triathlete Jess Learmonth, middle-distance runner Ethan Hussey, long-distance runner Phil Sesemann and divers Jack Laugher and Yona Knight-Wisdom, the series is still available to binge-watch now.

Leeds Pride is a massive event in the city’s calendar each year. In the Pride Chats series, host Matt Jameson invited prominent LGBTQ+ community members, including Cllr Jonathan Pryor, Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council & Cabinet Member for Economy, Transport & Sustainable Development and British businessman Terry George, actor Ash Palmisciano and broadcaster Stephanie Hirst, to give their views ahead of the event.  

For Do You Know What I Mean? (DYNWIM?) Rob Chadwick spoke to four trailblazers from the Leeds music scene: boundary-pushing DJ DJ Paulette, celebrated DL, producer and founder of the renowned Vision label Ralph Lawson, and, in the final episode, legendary Back to Basics founder Dave Beer alongside the acclaimed author of Trainspotting Irvine Welsh. All shared their unique insights into the evolution of Leeds nightlife.

The Story of Waddingtons was a mini-documentary made in collaboration with Chapter 81 to celebrate the city’s rich gaming heritage and Leeds-based Waddington’s role in bringing the iconic game MONOPOLY to life in the UK. Former managing director of Waddingtons, John Watson, offers an insider view of the company during the 1970s with insights from Kitty Ross, Curator of Leeds History at Leeds Museums and Galleries and Professor Robert Shail, Director of Research at Leeds Beckett University. It’s a fascinating watch that’s available to view now.