Ever fancied dipping your toes into the world of live event production?
The Academy of Live Technology is where the world's biggest artists go to rehearse before heading out on arena tours.
And whilst it's pretty impressive that you'll walk through the same halls as Kayne West, Arctic Monkeys, One Direction, Pink, ITV, Netflix and more, it's even more exciting that you can kickstart your career in the same space.
At degree and master level you can explore different specialist areas of live entertainment design and production, but for those looking for fast-paced, skills-based courses, there's also a number of Skills Bootcamps to get stuck into.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The idea of the Skills Bootcamps are to give those who are considering a career in the industry the opportunity to see what a real day-in-the-life in live events is all about, and a taster of the skills needed to be able to work on major projects around the world.
These might appeal to someone looking at starting on one of the Academy of Live Technology's degree courses and want to learn more before sending off their application; as well as post-graduates looking to find their specialist areas, or someone who would like to know more about changing the path of their career and want to learn all about the ins and outs of the industry.
These courses really do bring the best of both practical hands-on and theoretical sessions together and take an inclusive approach to ensure that all types of learners feel heard and understood throughout the courses.
At present, there's four different Skills Bootcamps that you can enrol in:
Skills Bootcamp in Event Management
Images: The Hoot Leeds
About the course: This five-week course covers all areas of Event Management, splitting into different areas of planning, as well as marketing strategy; communication and credentials; health and safety and professional etiquette.
Planning is split into multiple sections, including: strategic, stakeholder, sustainability, financial planning (and procurement), as well as exploring site management plans.
Start Dates: Monday 12 February and Monday 18 March 2024
More dates are expected to be released throughout the year here.
How to apply: You can register your interest and start the application process here.
To take part in the Events Management course, you must be aged 19 or over and live in West Yorkshire (including Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) and you cannot be in full-time education or undertaking an apprenticeship at the time of joining.
This course is fully-funded and free of charge to those that meet the criteria, but are limited to one per person, per year.
Skills Bootcamp in Event Production
Images: The Hoot Leeds
About the course: This bootcamp is designed to give you a flavour of four different areas of event production, over the course of five weeks. Giving an introduction to live sound engineering; rigging and event safety; show calling and stage, production and tour management, you'll train using the world-class facilities onsite that have already been tried and tested by the likes of Pink, Metallica, The Killers, Netflix, Amazon and ITV.
Start dates: Thursday 15 February and Monday 18 March 2024
More dates are expected to be released throughout the year here.
How to apply: You can register your interest and start the application process here.
To take part in the Events Production course, you must be aged 19 or over and live in West Yorkshire (including Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) and you cannot be in full-time education or undertaking an apprenticeship at the time of joining.
This course is fully-funded and free of charge to those that meet the criteria, but are limited to one per person, per year.
Skills Bootcamp in Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine, for those of us who aren't in the industry, is 'the most powerful real-time 3D creation tool' and a great up-skill to have under your belt if you're looking to carve a career in virtual production, live events, TV, film or even game design.
The five-week-long course takes you through the basics of using Unreal Engine and its application in game design, VFX, virtual production and immersive events, before you start to look at more technical skills like level design, lighting, materials, cinematics and camera, game mechanics, blueprint visual scripting, UI widgets and project development.
Start dates: Wednesday 14 February and Monday 18 March 2024
More dates are expected to be released throughout the year here.
How to apply: You can register your interest and start the application process here.
To take part in the Events Production course, you must be aged 19 or over and live in West Yorkshire (including Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) and you cannot be in full-time education at the time of joining.
This course is fully-funded for those that are unemployed, self-employed or in part-time education. If you are employed, the Academy of Live Technology will ask your employer to contribute 10% of fees for small and medium-sized enterprises, and 30% for large enterprises.
Skills Bootcamp in Virtual Production
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The virtual production course also covers the basics of Unreal Engine, but instead focuses on the specific application of the state-of-the-art software in the virtual production industry over a ten-week-long part time course.
There will be opportunity to learn all about materials, lighting, levels, cinematics, camera, storyboards, production design, and on-set virtual production skills and technical skills before you'll shoot your own virtual production project in groups, and understand the roles of Producers, Directors and Virtual Production logistics a well as post-production skills.
Course dates: 10-week course will run part-time from Monday 12 February - Monday 30 March 2024.
More dates are expected to be released throughout the year here.
How to apply: You can register your interest and start the application process here.
To take part in the Events Production course, you must be aged 19 or over and live in West Yorkshire (including Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) and you cannot be in full-time education at the time of joining.
This course is fully-funded for those that are unemployed, self-employed or in part time education. If you are employed, the Academy of Live Technology will ask your employer to contribute 10% of fees for small and medium-sized enterprises (£300), and 30% for large enterprises (£900).
West Yorkshire's very own Jane McDonald is coming to First Direct Arena in Leeds for a hometown show that's set to be spellbinding.
Making her British TV screen debut nearly 30 years ago on The Cruise, before joining the Loose Women panel and going on to present a whole host of travel shows including Cruising with Jane McDonald, now this Wakefield legend returns to First Direct Arena.
This latest tour titled after her 2026 LP Living The Dream, will see Jane singing hits from both past and present including a couple covers too.
Earlier this year, Jane's Mighty Hoopla performance went viral online after she commanded the stage in a red leather jacket, donning a singular rainbow hair extension while belting out RAYE's 'Where Is My Husband!'
Audio North even got the opportunity to interview this legendary lady when she visited her hometown HMV store in Wakefield for an exclusive album signing - Oh look, it's me!
The Wakefield wonder-woman's latest album Living The Dream was released in March and considering the tour is named after this impressive LP, we're sure fans can expect to hear quite a few tracks from this album.
Living The Dream
I'll Not Be Beaten
You Don't Know What You Got
Don't Mind If I Do
The Hand That Leads Me
Ain't Gonna Beg
I Will Always Love You
Islands in the Stream
Jolene
9 to 5
You're My World
Where Is My Husband!
Let the Light In
Cake by the Ocean
Jai Ho!
APT.
Right Where I Belong
How Do I Move On
Beautiful Soul
All By Myself
You Still Lead Me
Of course, Jane also loves to cover a tune or two, and we'll never forget her renditions of 'Cake By The Ocean', 'Jai Ho' or 'APT.'.
What are the stage times for Jane McDonald in Leeds?
The doors for Jane McDonald's Living The Dream Tour in Leeds are set for 6pm with the event set to start at 7.30pm.
First Direct Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you have enough time to dash home and eat 'Cake by the (Sofa)' before ringing in the new day.
How to get to First Direct Arena
Bus Station
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in LeedsÂ
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
James Blunt announces huge European tour, kicking off in Leeds
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, kicking off a run of arena dates here in Leeds.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad 'You're Beautiful', is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour here in Leeds next spring, with a massive show at the First Direct Arena.
Then he'll head to more cities including Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be 'exhilarating'.
James has already released the first single, 'Tastes Like Summer', and 'Weight Of It All', with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who'll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: "Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury."
James Blunt will be at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on 26 March, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
Sophie Smith -
12th February 2024 
