With a stellar lineup of headliners set to bring you back to the 80s who will be performing alongside Opera North's powerhouse of musicians.
If you love to head down to the club on 80s night but would rather party outdoors than in a packed out nightclub, the 80s Classical is the summer festival you don't want to miss.
With the likes of Nik Kershaw, Go West and Nick Heyward headlining, this is set to be one of the biggest years yet for the festival.
Taking place on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 July 2023 in Millenium Square, the two-day event will see Leeds own Opera North perform an exclusive set of chart-topping hits as well as providing their symphonic might behind the headliners to create an unbeatable sound. The band are 50 members strong and are all looking forward to the opportunity to perform live once more.
Image: Supplied
Friday will see 80s pop legends Nik Kershaw, Go West, Nick Heyward and Heaven 17 take to the stage in Millenium Square alongside the orchestra's powerhouse of musicians.
Saturday is also set to be a riot as dance music from the 90s to present day gets a radical revamp with Club Classical Anthems, where international artists take their hits up a gear with the expanded power and colour of Opera North’s musicians behind them.
Joining the Orchestra will be Leeds’ own electronic pioneers Utah Saints, Dreamer hitmaker Janice Robinson, twice UK number one vocalist Kelli-Leigh and singer-songwriter Karen Harding.
Cliff Masterson, composer, arranger and conductor for both shows said: “We’re thrilled to be coming back to our second home in Millennium Square, and excited to reveal some stellar debuts, as well as the return of some familiar faces, for this fourth instalment of 80s Classical.”
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “We are delighted to be hosting these fantastic events again on Millennium Square at the end of July. The magnificent Orchestra of Opera North together with a range of star performers promises to be more must-see outdoor concert experiences for people to enjoy.
"We are especially pleased these events are taking place within Leeds 2023, as the city showcases its musical and cultural offering and talents to the world.”
The tiramisu hype lives on, and this time it's coming to Leeds.
It really does feel like the traditional Italian dessert has taken the world by storm as of late.
Everything from tiramisu cups and tiramisu coffees have been popping up all over our feed, and now tiramisu in drawer form is popping up in the city centre.
Misu Tiramisu is an independent business that began at Manchester's Christmas Markets and quickly became one of the most popular operators, all thanks to its miniature tiramisu ‘drawers’.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The individually portioned and colourfully packaged desserts quickly became one of town’s top puddings, and owners Aleem and Aishah went on to launch a stand inside the Manchester Arndale too.
And now they’re branching out again in Leeds inside Trinity shopping centre for a two month residency.
You’ll find all their delicious flavours of handmade tiramisu, including classic, pistachio, chocolate, Biscoff, mango, and lemon - they'll also have some gluten-free tiramisu on offer as well, so no one has to miss out.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Misu Tiramisu owners Aleem and Aishah spent a year refining the recipe for their tiramisus after a trip to Milan, first launching with their first market stall in Sale.
Misu Tiramisu is now open inside Trinity shopping centre opposite Boots Opticians and Pop Specs.
They're open every day of the week for you to get your tiramisu fix, from 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on a Sunday.
And trust us Leeds, they're just as delicious as they are adorable.
Fossilised 320-million-year-old fish found in Leeds’ Roundhay Park
Clementine Hall
A prehistoric fish fossil has been unearthed at Roundhay Park in Leeds.
The fascinating prehistoric skull bone of a coelacanth fish was discovered by a geologist at Roundhay Park earlier this year.
It is thought the creature was frozen in time aeons ago, during an era when the park was submerged under a vast tropical lagoon.
The remarkable discovery has now been kindly donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries and added to the natural sciences collection at Leeds Discovery Centre.
Image: Leeds City Council
The Leeds fossil was found by Ru Smith of the Yorkshire Geological Society during a reconnaissance walk he was carrying out ahead of a planned field excursion in the north Leeds park.
Describing the moment he made the discovery, Ru said: “There’s a layer of rock in the park which dates from around 320 million years ago, from a time before the breakup of the continents, when what is now the park would have been situated close the Equator and under the warm waters of a tropical lagoon. West Central Africa would be a good place to find similar environments in the present.
“There’s a bed of freshwater mussels called Carbonicola at one level in the rock, and opening a piece of shale from this bed in my hands I saw something unusual – a distinctive skull bone of a large fish. I knew straight away this was something different and very rare."
The bone was verified byexperts as belonging to a coelacanth older than those found elsewhere in Yorkshire, making it the oldest fossil coelacanth discovered in the region.
Ru added: “Coelacanths are pretty amazing fish and it’s just very cool to think that at one time, you could have been standing in Leeds and watching them swim around above a bed of mussels in Roundhay Park.
“That’s really the wonder of geology, looking at the rock and time travelling in the imagination to what was a very different world.”
The Hoot -
2nd March 2023 
