Rachel Riley leads a maths celebration at LIFI26 and Tasha Ghouri joins Dame Evelyn Glennie on stage

Leeds International Festival of Ideas has added two more names to its 2026 programme, and tickets are on sale now.

The first is a brand-new event. To mark Leeds becoming the UK’s first-ever City of Maths, LIFI26 is bringing together a panel of unlikely experts to ask a deceptively simple question: Is maths the root of everything? Leading the conversation is Channel 4’s Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown number whiz Rachel Riley MBE, a long-standing numeracy campaigner who has written a guide to help adults rebuild their confidence with numbers.

Maths might be one of the most popular A Levels in the country, but for most of us it stops at 16, even though we reach for it every time we budget, measure out ingredients or work out how much paint to buy. Riley and her panel will lift the lid on the surprising places maths turns up, from music and disease modelling to graphic design, construction and space exploration. She’s joined by MathsWorldUK CEO Dr Katie Chicot, Leeds Conservatoire composer Professor Ben Gaunt, Lloyds Banking Group weather and catastrophe modelling lead Dr Ollie Halliday, and University of Leeds engineer and COVID-era ventilation expert Professor Catherine Noakes OBE. Expect far less anxiety-inducing algebra and far more of maths as a tool for tackling society’s biggest challenges.

Is maths the root of everything? takes place on Wednesday 7 October, 12–1.30pm, in the Courtyard at Leeds Playhouse.

There’s news for one of the festival’s most anticipated conversations, too. Tasha Ghouri joins Dame Evelyn Glennie for Strength Beyond the Silence, an uplifting fireside chat about what it takes to succeed when the world isn’t built with you in mind. Ghouri — the presenter, entrepreneur and deaf advocate with more than two million followers, known from Love Island, Strictly Come Dancing and Pilgrimage — was born profoundly deaf and has a cochlear implant. Alongside award-winning deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, and hosted by broadcaster and arts accessibility campaigner Dr Hannah French, she’ll explore how both women have broken barriers, challenged stereotypes and turned their perspectives into their greatest strengths.

Strength Beyond the Silence takes place on Thursday 8 October, 7.30–9pm, in the Courtyard at Leeds Playhouse — and it’s already selling fast.

Tickets for both events are on sale now at leedsinternationalfestival.com.