Get ready to tumble into a world of wonder as LeedsBID are gearing up to bring the beloved literary classic to life this summer.
Wonderland Awaits is an immersive, city-wide celebration inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
Running from Saturday 26 July to Sunday 31 August 2025, this completely free, family-friendly event promises to fill the city with magic, curiosity, and colour, following on from the phenomenal success of last year’s MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover, which saw over a whopping 550,000 visitors.
This year, Leeds Business Improvement District invites visitors to journey down the rabbit hole for an unforgettable adventure.
Expect interactive installations, larger-than-life characters, theatrical performances, puzzles to solve, and plenty of surprises, Wonderland Awaits is set to spark the imaginations of all ages.
"LeedsBID creates a portfolio of inspired events across Leeds city centre to animate it for key holiday periods like the summer, which has created an expectation of what is to come, says Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive of LeedsBID.
He continues, “This summer Wonderland Awaits will inject creativity and colour into the city centre for five weeks to delight and entertain families and visitors, encouraging them to embark on their own mini adventures. People really won’t want to be late to join in the fun.”
Collaborating to bring unique events like Wonderland Awaits to Leeds, which are freely accessible to all, makes coming to Leeds different to other locations, making it a place people want to be.”
James Broughton, Head of Marketing Communications, Town Centre Securities PLC (Merrion Centre), adds: “LeedsBID’s events always bring energy and vibrancy to the city. These creative activations are hugely popular with our visitors and truly enhance the shopping and leisure experience. We’re thrilled to support another unforgettable summer.”
M&S has launched a massive recruitment drive across Yorkshire.
With the festive season fast approaching, and most British stores having already unveiled their Christmas ranges for 2026, one of the country’s largest brands has launched a massive UK-wide seasonal recruitment drives to gear up for what is always one of the busiest times of the year for the retail industry.
M&S has announced it will recruit for plenty of new colleagues across the UK.
As mentioned Christmas is one of the busiest moments of the year for M&S, and seasonal colleagues play a ‘vital’ part in delivering that.
Image: Supplied
New recruits will be tasked with helping M&S deliver a ‘brilliant’ service for customers.
Stores with vacancies span the whole of Leeds - including city centre, Moortown, Crown Point, White Rose Shopping Centre and Pudsey.
M&S says the roles are ‘fast-moving and hands-on’, with colleagues required to work together to make sure customers still get the very best of M&S, even at its busiest.
The roles will pay £13.41 per hour, with successful applicants receiving the training, tools and support needed to get up to speed quickly.
“We can’t wait to welcome over 300 new colleagues to our store teams here in Greater Manchester,” commented Zeba Khan, who is the Regional Manager at M&S.
“As we get ready for our busiest time of year, it’s a great opportunity to join us and help bring a magical M&S Christmas to our customers.
“We have a range of opportunities available, whether joining our city centre flagship or our fresh market-style foodhalls. We’re looking for colleagues who are passionate about delivering great customer service and being part of a team.”
Fancy it then? Applications are now open, and you can find out more and apply on the M&S Christmas careers page here.
A brand-new frozen yoghurt bar is coming to Leeds
Clementine Hall
Everyone's in love with frozen yoghurt, and Leeds is about to get more of it.
Over the past year, the UK has become a little bit obsessed with frozen yoghurt - and Leeds is no exception.
We've had Kefiyo open in Headingley which met to queues round the block for weeks, as well as the UK's leading froyo brand Frurt open up in Kirkstall.
And now, there's a newbie on the block.
Images: Supplied
Introducing 'Yo-Go', your newest frozen yoghurt bar that will be opening up in Leeds' Hyde Park.
We don't know much about Yo-Go yet, but we do know it's female owned and is sporting some pretty cute branding.
The space is currently undergoing renovation, with the owner posting that she received the keys just a couple of days ago.
The window vinyls are up, and people are already getting very excited about the opening as they flock to the comments of Yo-Go's first Instagram post.
Announcing the news of their opening, Yo-Go wrote: "GUYS!! WE’VE GOT THE KEYS. And apparently they don’t come with a finished shop… rude.
"While we get to work, we need your input. Toppings, flavours, very specific requests, we’re taking notes. Drop them below and I’ll try my best to make it happen x"
Comments included requests for 'unlimited toppings' as well as warm sauces, cookie dough, marshmallow and honeycomb.
Sounds pretty delicious if you ask us, but for now, it looks like there's still some work to be done before the shop is ready to welcome its first customers.
We don't know of an opening date just yet, but we'll keep you updated as and when we do.
Clementine Hall -
24th April 2025 
