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Leeds International Festival of Ideas is back for 2024 – here’s everything you need to know

The Hoot Leeds is excited to be a media partner for Leeds International Festival of Ideas 2024.

Sophie Smith Sophie Smith - 1st May 2024

LIFI24 is going to be a big one.

Yorkshire's biggest cultural festival is back with a bang. Taking over Leeds Playhouse for another year, Leeds International Festival of Ideas is bringing together four nights of worldwide speakers, performers and thought leaders to discuss some of the biggest questions of our time.

This year, conversations span from addiction, artificial intelligence, care, neurodiversity, and the impact of reality TV on our perception of reality amongst other exciting topics.⁠

Notable names scheduled to grace the festival stages include: Kate Adie, Stacey Dooley, Kate Garraway, Goldie, Paterson Joseph, Nile Rodgers, Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka Self Esteem, Tim Spector, Carol Vorderman, Matt Willis and many more.

What events can we look forward to at this year's festival?

The panel chats this year are the strongest the festival has had. Get ready for an engaging lineup as Matt Willis from the pop-punk band Busted and Lauren Windle, an esteemed author and journalist and more as they tackle the topic of addiction.

Delve into the realm of AI with Georgie Barrat, host of Gadget Show, along with NHS Digital's Dr. Nisha Sharma and the talented actor Paterson Joseph, who brings a sceptical yet insightful perspective.

Professor Tim Wilson (The Circle) joins forces with Rylan (X Factor, Big Brother) alongside Charlotte Armitage, an expert on the duty of care for production companies, to explore the impact of reality TV on our perception of reality.

Discover the diverse facets of neurodiversity with Ellie Middleton, an impassioned activist, Christine McGuiness, a model, and Tumi Sotire, founder of The Black Dyspraxic, in what promises to be a highlight of the discussion as they discuss “We’re all neurodiverse aren’t we?”.

And ponder the question of care with Kate Garraway as she leads a conversation with Goldie, a renowned music producer, and Lizzy Oma, an advocate for cohousing, about who steps in when basic human needs are left unmet due to illness, age, disability, or poverty.

Carol Vorderman / Grace Beverley / Kate Garraway /
Images: Supplied, Chapter 81

When is LIFI24?

Taking place from Wednesday 2 October - Saturday 5 October 2024, the full event timetable for 2024 is as follows:⁠

Courtyard TheatreQuarry Theatre
Wed 2 Oct
7pm - How do we talk about addiction?7:30pm - The evolution of creativity with Nile Rodgers (hosted by BEKA)
Thu 3 Oct12pm - How to break moulds and influence people with Grace Beverley
7pm - Could AI be humanity’s saviour?7:30pm - Trust your gut with Tim Spector (hosted by Dr Amir Khan)
Fri 4 Oct7pm - How is TV distorting our reality?7:30pm - Does the media need to grow a pair? With Carol Vorderman and Self Esteem
Sat 5 Oct2pm - We’re all neurodiverse aren’t we?
7pm - Who really cares?7:30pm - This means war with Kate Adie (hosted by Stacey Dooley)

Martin Dickson, Festival Manager, says, “The power of LIFI to bring the people of Leeds together and have a courageous, open, and honest conversation about major issues affecting us all in society today is one of the unique elements that sets this festival apart. There’s nothing as bold, confident, or influential in the UK today as a people-focused festival.”

“LIFI aims to shout louder about the city, confidently and boldly projecting an innovative, creative, exciting place to be and amplifying that to the world; that is what makes it the ultimate place-marketing festival of its type, not only in Leeds but the UK. The heartbeat of the festival lies in the experiences and sentiments shared by the people who came to witness it. After last year's sell-out, we are super proud of this year's line-up and hope many people join the conversation!”

How can I get tickets for Leeds International Festival of Ideas 2024?

Tickets go on sale on Friday 10 May 2024 via the LIFI website here.

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Feature Image - Supplied, Chapter 81

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Loyle Carner at Kirkstall Abbey – the perfect match of artist and venue

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

One of Britain's best performed to a pack-out crowd at Leeds' historic Kirkstall Abbey.

If there was ever a venue designed to make you feel like you've accidentally wandered into the coolest history lesson of your life, it's Kirkstall Abbey.

Ancient ruins, blazing sunshine, pints in plastic cups and thousands of people flocking for the one and only Loyle Carner? Not a bad way to spend a Saturday we think.

And it wasn't just Loyle who we were treated to either, the entire day as part of Above All Else Festival saw a bill of groove-fuelled acts take to the stage.

Bricknasty, Kofi Stone, Kokoroko and Jordan Rakei delivered fabulous sets and warmed us up very nicely indeed for the man himself.

Fresh from the release of Hopefully!, Carner arrived to deafening cheers, wasting little time before settling into the laid-back confidence that has become his trademark.

And he didn't waste time getting into his catalogue of hits either as he seamlessly transitioned from one banger to the next.

It really felt like a celebration of his work, and he himself welled up at the sea of people singing his songs back to him over and over again.

Of course, highlights included Loose Ends and Ottolenghi but dedicating Hate to Nigel Farage was nothing short of iconic.

This is a rapper that has executed the delivery between syncopation and rhythm perfectly, but it's his lyrics that keep you going back for more.

Of course Kirkstall Abbey itself deserves plenty of credit, as the sun went down the abbey was lit up and created probably the most cinematic backdrop for a gig you can imagine.

What stood out most, though, was the atmosphere. There was a proper sense of community throughout the evening, with strangers dancing together and friends rapping every word arm in arm.

Loyle Carner has long been regarded as one of Britain's most thoughtful voices in hip-hop, but nights like this show why his appeal stretches far beyond the genre.

What's next for Loyle Carner? We're not sure, but we feel very lucky to have shared this moment with him, and you could tell he did too.

Read more: The Maccabees at Kirkstall Abbey – musical reunion of the decade?

Featured image - The Hoot Leeds

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The Maccabees at Kirkstall Abbey – musical reunion of the decade?

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

When bands reunite, it's usually pretty easy to guess what the motive is. A looming tax bill, an incoming divorce, a tanking solo career, for example.

But with The Maccabees, those scenarios feel a long way removed.

This is a band that called it a day at the top of their game - and then have returned even stronger, and seemingly because they just missed being on stage together.

Addressing the near-decade apart while on stage at Kirkstall Abbey, The Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks sums it up simply: "For a long time we were a band, and then we weren't a band for a bit, and now we're a band again."

He's as softly-spoken a frontman as they come, but then The Maccabees never have leaned entirely on their frontman for their live energy - not when he's flanked by the White brothers.

Felix White spends half the gig sporting an ear-splitting grin, and the other half screaming words of encouragement at the audience like a crazed Top of the Pops presenter. The organised-fun patter might grate if he weren't so phenomenal the moment the music starts again.

Then brother Hugo is a brooding, powerful figure, usually standing with his legs so wide apart I'm surprised he doesn't split his trousers. His stage presence is so cool, so confident, it's hard to take your eyes off him.

Orlando's otherworldly voice is really allowed to shine through with songs like Spit It Out, when the stage reduces to a single spotlight and the other band members actually squat down to minimise the distractions.

The tempo shifts of Marks to Prove It, the urgency of X-Ray and the layered beauty of Wall of Arms all underline just how tightly the band play together.

There will be new music on the way, eventually, and they give us a glimpse into that with The Ballad of So Long, a swooping epic that suggests they still have somewhere new to go.

It's hard to complain that they don't have much more to show us yet - not when the alternative is a greatest hits, belt-every-word live show.

By the end of the night, as The Maccabees wrap up their show at Kirkstall Abbey, there's a quiet confidence about them. They know this comeback works, and we'll be lapping it up for as long as they'll stick around.

Judging by the reaction inside Kirkstall Abbey, everyone else does too.

Read more: Loyle Carner at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds – tickets, times, setlist and more

Featured image: The Hoot Leeds

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