Visit Leeds

Made in Chelsea star joins Saturday’s Are Kids Still Part of the Plan? alongside BBC broadcaster Johnny I’Anson, while Shanequa Paris, Tasha Ghouri, Dr Radha Modgil, Ash Palmisciano and Stevie Ward lead the first LIFI Futures line-up Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 October 2026 Leeds International Festival of Ideas (LIFI) is one month away, returning to Leeds Playhouse from Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 October 2026 with five days of talks, debates and live events exploring the ideas shaping our world.

As we head into autumn, CrowdedHouse is turning up the heat with a new seasonal menu that puts bold British produce and rich, warming flavours centre stage. The rooftop restaurant has unveiled its latest seasonal menu, bringing together a mix of locally sourced ingredients, with all meat sourced from Yorkshire farms, supplied by Skyes House Farm.

Pho, the Vietnamese restaurant group started by Stephen and Jules Wall in 2005, has announced it will open in Boar Lane with “FREE PHO DAY” on Friday, 18th September, following a soft launch (50% off food). Pho first opened in Leeds in Trinity Kitchen in October 2013 – with a kiosk-style format rather than its standard sit-down restaurant offer. Pho will be closing the Trinity Kitchen restaurant this Sunday, 6 September and opening at 50 Boar Lane on September 18th.

One of Leeds’ best-known outdoor event spaces is set to reopen under new ownership this autumn, bringing a packed programme of events back to the city. The former Chow Down site has been transformed into BAR Events Leeds, a brand new venue from the team behind Yorkshire based BAR Events UK, with its first major event being a month long Oktoberfest celebration throughout October.

Northern Ballet presents Three Short Ballets Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds 18 – 26 September 2026 Under 30s Night: Tuesday 22 September 2026 Northern Ballet brings an exciting mix of contemporary voices and classic choreography to Leeds with Three Short Ballets this September.

Progress Wrestling embarks on The Odyssey Tour, featuring many epic battles involving the incredible high-flying athletes, hard hitting bruisers and outrageous characters. The best talent in the world clash with the stars of tomorrow, today.

The Hole in Wand is offering free entertainment for children in its charming outdoor space in Leeds city centre. The free family funday is being held on 29 August in its beautiful hospitality venue, The Wand and Tankard. No booking’s required – families can simply turn up via the Hole in Wand’s garden next to St John’s Park, or the main entrance in the St John’s Centre. Children will meet Grobblenook, the Hole in Wand’s playful resident gargoyle, and be entertained with games and crafts.

August Wilson’s American blockbuster opens in the Courtyard Theatre at Leeds Playhouse from 11-26 September Pioneering theatre company Headlong have released new rehearsal images for their extraordinary new touring production of August Wilson’s Fences. Directed by award-winning director Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch), this co-production with Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and HOME Manchester marks the first major revival in over a decade of this American blockbuster.

Grade II listed site at Stourton, closed since 2024, begins a 12-month community restoration and its new owners are appealing for millwrights, engineers and anyone who knows how the machinery works to come forward. Thwaite Mills, one of the best-preserved working watermills in Britain, has been taken over by four new owners who will restore it and reopen it as a working museum with a canal-side pub, a cafe and a beer garden.

Leeds is set to become one big coffee festival this September as Slurpfest, the much-loved specialty coffee celebration from Manchester, comes to the city for the first time, with over 30 venues already signed up to take part.