Leeds Culture Trust has received a total of £2,120,130.
LEEDS2023, the year-long celebration of the city of culture, has been awarded over £2 million to develop creative projects across the the city to explore lesser-known historical stories of interest, amongst other exciting stories.
The award will help bring to life new project ideas and others already in development for LEEDS 2023 which has committed significantly to uncovering the city’s hidden stories.
The money forms part of The National Lottery Heritage Fund's post-pandemic recovery fund for community and cultural events and organisations. LEEDS2023 was one of seven projects across the nation to receive a share in the sum.
We can expect a whole host of activity throughout the year from some of our city's most talented. From self-taught civil engineer John Smeatonto with poet Matt Abbott to explore the hidden stories of the Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley and its local communities.
In Otley, a series of craft workshops themed around “The Day The Elephants Came to Town” has emerged from an historical event that took place in the popular market town. The idea came from storyteller and artist Vickie Orton, who researched and uncovered new facts and has been working with community groups - including the local Brownie pack, knitting circle and The Men’s Shed – to give the story a new lease of life.
Image: LEEDS2023
LEEDS 2023 Creative Director and CEO, Kully Thiarai, said: “The LEEDS 2023 team is delighted to have been awarded this latest funding which will play a crucial role in developing these original and exciting projects. As an organization we are absolutely committed to revealing and celebrating the diverse stories and the great heritage of our fantastic city. One of our greatest strengths is our diversity and this project helps to amplify all those voices and celebrate our differences.
"Leeds’s sporting achievements are renowned but its time in the cultural limelight is long overdue. All these brands have huge international reputations, and they will help us put Leeds on the world stage for culture.”
Amongst some of the names set to take part in the year-long event include The British Library, Leeds Rhinos, Leeds United, the National Youth Theatre and WOW – Women of the World and more.
The full event programme is due to be unveiled to the public on Friday 23 September 2022.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Sophie Smith -
29th June 2022 
