LEEDS 2023 AWAKENING: “Wake up Leeds, you’ve got gold in your veins”.

Co-author: Owen Frost

Saturday 7th January marked the start of an exciting year in Leeds. 2023 will see Leeds as ‘City of Culture’, with creative events being hosted throughout the city all year long. The opening event on Saturday brought together acts to showcase Leeds as the creative hub that it is and to kickstart the year-long, city-wide celebration.

The night was sprinkled with sports stars. Hosts and Leeds locals BBC Radio Presenter Sanchez Payne and Chair of 2023 Gabby Logan did an excellent job of bringing together Leeds’ eclectic talent. Leeds Rhinos Jamie Jones-Buchanan and gold medal-winning Paralympian Kadeena Cox OBE also made an appearance.

LEEDS 2023 burst into the Headingley stadium with some big musical numbers. Opera North, Chumbawamba and Hope and Social delivered a 100-dancer strong rendition of ‘Tubthumping’ alongside the Leeds West Indian Carnival. This was followed by a rambunctious steel drum rendition of ‘I Predict a Riot’ by the Loiner Legends, Kaiser Chiefs. The group Leeds to Lahore (Leeds on Wheels) later flooded the stage, their act made even more impressive by the wet conditions that kept up throughout the night. Big and small, the impressively talented Solar Jets also covered a Chiefs’ song, exposing Leeds to a newer generation of rock n’ roll. 

LEEDS 2023 also contrasted said large-scale performances with numerous local submissions from attendees. Films depicted a range of topics – from the power of painting landscapes to grassroots football, even the varying sights, sounds and smells of the kitchen. It was great to see LEEDS 2023 exhibit how these commonplace acts can be seen as wonderful means of expression. It was also a joy after the drones had powered down to see many of the other artwork submissions hung around the Headingley stadium as we walked out. 

Poetry was given a spotlight as crowds saw performances by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, as well as a ‘Hometown Hype-Poem’ from Testament and Denmarc. These performances called on the city to “wake up” and see the beauty and creativity all around, and showcased yet another creative outlet. Armitage’s performance, accompanied by music, evoked a sense of majesty within the streets of Leeds and was proof of the power of words. Testament and Denmarc brought a more comic side of poetry as they got the crowds chanting along to the words “L-double E-D-S wot wot.” Their hip-hop-influenced performance demonstrated just how varied poetry can be, and was once again a homage to the creativity present all around Leeds!

The star-studded line up also included noteworthy musical performances from acts such as Graft (Leeds based rapper and winner of the Rap Game 2023), Mychalio Murphy from Opera North and perhaps most excitingly Leeds alum Corrine Bailey Rae. Bailey Rae’s performance gracefully wowed the crowds, singing ‘Like a Star’ followed by iconic hit ‘Put Your Records On’, only to be interrupted by a BBC announcement of a mysterious god-like figure found in the River Aire. The initial confusion was then made clear as a swarm of drones descended upon the sky above headingley stadium to form the face of the sleeping Giant calling on Leeds to wake up. This precise and impressive display showed just how serious and important this year is. Leeds turned up,demonstrating just how much it has to offer. 

The image of the city as a sleeping giant was repeatedly evoked throughout the evening, with crowds being encouraged to wake up to the creativity around them and rise up as creatives themselves. As Leeds local (and TV presenter) George Webster said, “Every single person in this city is an artist and worthy of a creative life”. Left with this message, it is hard not to see the year ahead as a beautiful chance to experiment and explore with art. Art is something that should be available to everyone and Leeds 2023 will make sure we all get the chance to express ourselves.

Featured Image Credit: Wisdom Makubile