And the countdown is well and truly on to Leeds International Festival of Ideas 2023.
So to get us all excited for the likes of Bimini, Steven Bartlett, Ruby Wax OBE and many more coming together, we’re giving away the ultimate LIFI night in the city.
You’ll get tickets to a headliner event, a brewery tour, dinner and hotel right in the heart of the city included!
Prizes include: a pair of tickets to any LIFI headliner event of your choice ; one night’s hotel stay at the Leeds Marriott Hotel; a delicious dinner at Michelin-recommended Three's A Crowd and a brewery tour for four at North Brewing Co.
To enter all you need to do is follow @thehootleeds and @leedsintfest on Instagram and tag a friend in the comments - it’s one comment per entry and you can enter as many times as you like!
T&Cs apply and can be found on @thehootleeds bio on Instagram. Winner will be announced by @thehootleeds Instagram account ONLY. No cash alternative for any prizes will be offered.
About Leeds International Festival of Ideas
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.
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.
The four day festival will take place from Wednesday 27 September - Saturday 30 September 2023
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Leeds
Iconic Leeds venue The Reliance to be brought back to life under new name ‘The Smithfield’
The Reliance, a much missed North Street site, is being brought back to life as The Smithfield.
The Smithfield is set to be a new social eatery and pub focused on seasonal, produce-led dining.
Set to open its doors to the people of Leeds in early April, The Smithfield will pay homage to the local area through both its produce and people.
The venue will focus on proper plates of seasonal ingredients, pairing a relaxed dining style with a strong sense of community. Sounds pretty brilliant if you ask us.
Building on the legacy of North Street, The Smithfield is a collaborative project between Yorkshire brewery Crooked Brewing and chef James Donovan.
Images: Supplied
Steve Dawson, co-founder of Crooked Brewing, has long admired The Reliance and want to build on its established legacy.
“What The Reliance was doing was cutting edge for its time,” says Donovan. “We want to bring that same vision and energy into Leeds in 2026. Our aim is to pick up the culinary torch that The Reliance left behind and continue its legacy of great food in Leeds,” adds Dawson.
The Smithfield takes its name from Church Street’s historic connection to the Smithfield cattle market of the early 1800s, once located on what is now Lovell Park.
“We really want the people around us to feel that The Smithfield is their space,” says Dawson. “We want to give them a place at our table.”
We'll keep you updated with an opening date as and when we know, but we're very excited indeed.
Jungle are back and have announced a huge Leeds gig for later this year
Daisy Jackson
Modern funk and soul band Jungle are officially heading back to Leeds.
The Mercury Prize-nominated group will be performing at the First Direct Bank Arena this November, following their blistering summer on the festival circuit last year.
They'll be heading to Leeds on Saturday 21 November 2026.
Jungle was formed back in 2013 by producers and friends Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland.
While they technically worked as a duo for years (until 2023, when touring member Lydia Kitto became an official member of the band), Jungle are known for their huge live performances.
They always fill stages with musicians and vocalists, for incredible funk n soul live shows.
The bands huge hits include Back on 74, Casio, and Busy Earnin’, from four top-10 albums including 2023’s groundbreaking Volcano.
The upcoming Leeds date forms part of the band’s upcoming world tour, which arrives in the UK in November 2026 following a string of international performances across Europe, North America, and beyond.
Fans can expect a setlist jam packed with standout tracks, including fan favourites such as ‘Volcano’ and ‘Back On 74’ and newer material from their upcoming album ‘Sunshine’, released on 14 August that continues to push the band’s signature sound forward.
With over 3.4 billion streams to their name, Jungle’s Leeds show is set to be one of the hottest tickets of 2026 so we wouldn't mess about if we were you.
Tickets for Jungle in Manchester will go on general sale from 10am on Friday 27 March, with pre-sale from 10am on Thursday 26 March.
The Hoot -
8th June 2023 
