Leeds International Festival of Ideas has announced its full festival lineup, and it's combining some of the UK's most influential speakers with some of the most important questions of our time.
Taking place this September inside new venue Leeds Playhouse, this is set to be LIFI's biggest year to date.
Announcing the full lineup last night, festival organisers have revealed that the likes of Davina McCall, Dame Prue Leith and Will Young, will be taking to the stage alongside huge names from the world of entertainment, politics and business, including Yorkshire's Michelin starred chef Tommy Banks, Matt Baker MBE, Jay Blades MBE, Gemma Whelan, Amber Rudd, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Rob Rinder, Sir Jon Cuncliffe, and many more.
These exciting names will be joining TV personality Bimini, who will be talking about 'a world beyond the binary'; author and comedian Ruby Wax OBE will be bringing 'my journey to mindfulness' to life with a key note speaker show whilst 'a new generation of entrepreneurism' will be covered by Diary of a CEO's Steven Bartlett.
Working in partnership with LeedsBID, The Hoot Leeds and Weightmans, the idea of the festival is to bring conversations to the surface, using a combination of panels, fireside chats and speeches to inspire, provoke and encourage discussions.
Questions vary from 'what’s our obsession with true crime?' to 'who does our political system benefit?' and 'how do we talk about grief?' - and this year's lineup is perfectly certainly won't be shying away from the hard questions.
Will Young, appearing at LIFI23 says: “I’m excited to be part of a festival exploring many of the things that make us human. It’s so important not only to ask these questions of each other, but to spend time listening when we don’t have all the answers. What a fantastic line up!”
Leeds International Festival of Idas Full Lineup
The full programme schedule is as followed:
Wednesday 27 September 2023
Davina McCall will be on the panel for 'when will women's health be taken seriously'. / Image: Chapter 81
Panel: When will women's health be taken seriously? with Davina McCall, Dr Christine Ekechi and Lauren Mahon, plus more names to be announced
Fireside chat: A New Generation Of Entrepreneurism with Steven Bartlett
Tickets cost from £10 - £15 each for subsidised tickets, and this year there's more seats than ever before (moving to the Playhouse has increased seating capacity by 40%).
Leeds Playhouse, Artistic Director and CEO James Brining said: “It is so exciting to see the range of artists and speakers attending Leeds International Festival 2023. All are individuals at the top of their game and using their platforms to amplify the voices of others as well as exploring issues of importance and significance for contemporary society.
"At Leeds Playhouse, our aim is to open up our theatre, with its flexible conference spaces and three auditoria, welcoming local, national and international artists to the region, facilitating conversations and sharing stories that reflect the world we live in. We also aim to celebrate Leeds as a culture rich, vibrant city and hosting LIFI in 2023 certainly helps us achieve that goal.”
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This Leeds pop choir is putting emerging musicians centre stage
If there’s one thing Leeds knows how to do, it’s produce a seriously talented bunch of emerging creatives. And this time, we’re swapping the usual indie gigs and late-night dance floors for a choir proving there’s nothing old-fashioned about singing together.
Meet LC Pop Choir, the Leeds-based group taking some of the biggest pop, rock and gospel hits and giving them a whole new lease of life.
Based at Leeds Conservatoire, the choir was founded in 2015 by Principal Lecturer Craig Lees and has since grown into a talented community of students and alumni who share a love of music and a good old singalong.
But don’t go thinking this is your typical Sunday afternoon choir. We’re talking huge vocals, impressive harmonies and the kind of performances that make you want to get up and join in. Think songs you already know by heart, reimagined with a whole room full of voices behind them.
In 2025, LC Pop Choir took to the stage on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, performing Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten. The anthem is practically impossible not to sing along to, and the choir gave it a powerful new spin, showing just how much a familiar pop hit can be transformed through the power of group vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxUjfRqvyks
It’s the sort of performance that reminds you why live music is so special. There’s something about hearing a song you’ve known for years delivered in a completely different way that makes you fall in love with it all over again.
LC Pop Choir is such an exciting part of Leeds’ creative community. They’re not just performing songs; they’re finding new ways to bring people together through music. And that’s something Leeds has always done particularly well.
What makes the group even more special is the talent behind the harmonies. Made up of emerging artists releasing their own music, touring around the country and even performing at major festivals, these are creatives making waves in their own right.
Yet, every Monday, they come together as a family of creatives, supporting one another, nurturing their talents and celebrating their shared love of music.
The music industry can be a competitive place, particularly for artists just starting out, so having a space to develop their skills, meet like-minded people and be part of something bigger is invaluable.
This Leeds pop choir is putting emerging musicians centre stage. Credit: Ian Hodgson
And that sense of community is exactly what makes groups like LC Pop Choir such an important part of Leeds’ cultural scene.
Whether you’re a musical theatre obsessive, a pop music fanatic or someone who simply loves a brilliant live performance, LC Pop Choir is one Leeds-based group worth keeping on your radar.
We have a feeling some of these young artists will be paving the way for the next generation of music in the North, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
Clubland to celebrate 25 years with huge Leeds arena show
Clementine Hall
Clubland is heading to Leeds for a special arena-sized anniversary celebration next year.
The Clubland Arena Tour promises a night of the biggest artists and biggest anthems, giving fans the chance to come together for a celebration of the dance music brand.
Celebrating 25 years of Clubland, the tour will stop off at arenas in Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Aberdeen, and of course Leeds.
With the event set to take over one of Leeds' biggest live entertainment venues, anticipation is already building for what promises to be a nostalgic night of club classics and dancefloor favourites – even before the lineup is announced.
Image: Supplied
The full line-up is expected to be announced very soon, with fans encouraged to keep an eye out for further details.
Previous headliners at Clubland Live have included Cascada, Basshunter, Scooter, Ultrabeat, and Vengaboys, always guaranteeing a night of non-stop anthems.
For many dance music fans, Clubland has become synonymous with the sounds that dominated clubs, radio playlists and party nights throughout the 2000s.
Over the years, Clubland has continued to celebrate the artists and songs that helped define an era of dance music, giving fans the chance to experience their favourite tracks live alongside thousands of like-minded clubbers.
From infectious pop-dance hits to harder-hitting electronic anthems, its events tap into a sense of nostalgia while keeping the energy of a night out firmly at the centre of the experience.
The 25th anniversary tour looks set to build on that legacy, bringing a quarter-century of club classics to arenas across the UK.
The Clubland Arena Tour will be at the First Direct Bank Arena on Saturday 1 May 2027.
Sophie Smith -
5th April 2023 
