Leeds O2 Arena is set to be transformed beyond recognition when trippy part series Foreverland returns to the city this October.
Known for transforming dance floors into surreal, neon mazes, think Day-Glo flora, tropical palms, gigantic installations - and you're part way to imagining what's in store.
First launching in Bournemouth in 2004, Foreverland has been throwing its famously bizarre parties in locations around the world for the past seven years.
To date, they've sold 130,000 tickets to parties in 26 different cities. After a year off, they've had ample time to imagine their perfect party - and it looks set to be a mad one.
This October's event in Leeds will feature interactive walkabout characters, giant hanging inflatables suspended from the ceiling, CO2 jets, sparks and confetti explosions, trippy neon-themed decorations and even psychedelic dip painting.
Organisers will also be working with a range of new scents to create an all-encompassing sensory experience for the first time ever.
On the music front, House and bass-heavy tech are the order of the day.
Headline sets come from James Hype, Low Steppa, Weiss, Secondcity and Endor. All boast recent successes on labels like Defected, Top 10 UK chart placings, millions of Spotify streams and diaries taking in the likes of Abode and Elrow.
The resident team, meanwhile, features rising UK talents AmyElle, Tita Lau and Ben Rainey.
A spokesperson for Foreverland said: "We’re putting a focus on the whole sensory experience, adding themed smells to the venues to differentiate Foreverland shows from all other experiences revelers might have had.
"We’re incorporating a lot more technology into the stage builds and SFX, using holographic projections, water pumps and moving levers to add motion to parts of the decor build."
Register for ticket updates and find out more information online at the Foreverland website.
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Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Georgina Pellant -
30th April 2021 
