Why Leeds Should Top Every Traveller’s UK Summer Events List
A CITY BURSTING WITH CULTURE & CELEBRATION
Leeds United’s return to the Premier League is just one cause for celebration in the Yorkshire city. Leeds kicks off the UK's cultural summer in its famed ‘peacock’ fashion with major festivals, a city-wide jazz takeover, and the return of homegrown icons and football fans, Kaiser Chiefs. But for this Yorkshire city, May is just the warm-up.
The city’s creative pulse quickens throughout the summer with a blockbuster exhibition at the one of the world’s oldest museums, the Royal Armouries ‘Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum’ (27 June – 2 November) which sees original artefacts in the UK for the first time; International Test Match Cricket at the legendary Headingley Stadium (20 -21 June); a bounty of events at Harewood from Proms in the Park (21 June) to the Championship Dog Show (24 – 27 July), and Leeds Black Music Festival (24 August).
Leeds’ summer draws to a colourful close with Europe’s longest-running Caribbean celebration, the Leeds West Indian Carnival — an electrifying fusion of music, movement and heritage that brings thousands to the city’s streets (25 August).
Belinda Eldridge. Head of Visitor Economy, Inward Investment and International Relations at Leeds City Council, said: “May sets the scene — literally — for a city that lives and breathes culture all year round. It’s easy to experience the wealth of events in Leeds, it is after all, one of the UKs most walkable cities. Add that to the incredibly diverse offer of our live music venues and theatres, museums and parks, public squares and stately homes and it’s easy to see why the summer starts early in Leeds!”
The city is already in full swing with Mayfest, a month-long celebration of festivals and events that energise every corner of Leeds. Highlights still to come include:
- Live at Leeds in the Park (24 May) – Bloc Party, Natasha Bedingfield and Manic Street Preachers at Temple Newsam, the Tudor-Jacobean mansion on the outskirts of Leeds with 1,500 acres of landscaped parkland.
- Great British Food Festival, Harewood (24-26 May) – This Bank Holiday weekend, Harewood serves up chef demos, a BBQ stage, foraging walks, live music, markets and family activities — all at the former home of HRH Princess Mary, better known today as a filming location for Downton Abbey, Victoria, and Gentleman Jack.
- Slam Dunk Festival (25 May) – Get to know Leeds’ music roots at Slam Dunk Festival — the city’s homegrown celebration of pop-punk, emo, rock and alternative. What began in 2006 as a small event from a local record label has exploded into a major one-day festival, now showcasing 40+ bands across five stages and putting Leeds’ alternative scene centre stage.
- Leeds Jazz Festival (22–27 May) – One of Leeds’ newer musical events, this festival sees local, national and international acts including saxophonist Camilla George, pianist Sultan Stevenson with his trio and critically acclaimed band Snowpoet perform across venues and public spaces over six days.
- Collective Encounters with Yorkshire Dance (30 & 31 May) – Two days of performances, workshops and talks which celebrate LGBTQ+ voices and experiences at their studios in Leeds Cultural Quarter.
- Kaiser Chiefs: Live at Home (31 May) – An epic homecoming at Temple Newsam for the Leeds lads.
With world-class museums and iconic indie music venues, foodie festivals, literary get-togethers and LGBTQ+ dance performances; Leeds is arguably the UK’s most exciting cultural getaway, a city where – when the season slows down, the culture ramps up.
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