On Monday, University of Leeds Conferences and Events (formerly MEETinLEEDS) officially launched its new city centre venue – Cloth Hall Court. Located on Quebec Street, opposite Leeds Railway Station, the Grade II listed building is a multi-purpose corporate and private events venue for up to 300 delegates.

The launch and re-brand coincide with the University exhibiting at CHS Leeds this week, where a brand-new website has been unveiled to event professionals attending the show. To mark the importance of this event for business tourism in the region, the first event held in the recently refurbished Cloth Hall Court was the CHS Leeds Welcome Reception.

Take a look at some highlights from the Conference Hospitality Show Leeds Welcome Reception

Julie Philips – Chief Operating Officer at CHS Events, says: “We are delighted to be holding this year’s CHS Leeds Welcome Reception at Cloth Hall Court. It is important that our show represents the city and really showcases what Leeds has to offer our visitors who are joining from across the events industry. Cloth Hall Court is an exceptional new venue having received huge investment from the University of Leeds and we can’t think of a better way to showcase it than at our Welcome Reception.”

Cloth Hall Court offers nine versatile event spaces of varying size, situated over four floors. Its rich historical significance for the city’s textiles trade has been preserved and fused with state-of-the-art technical facilities, to accommodate a broad range of in-person and hybrid event formats.

Sam Glenister-Batey – Head of Conferences and Events at the University of Leeds says: “We’re thrilled to launch another exciting addition to our extensive venue portfolio. Increasingly, planners are looking to source venues that deliver on sustainability and ethical responsibility. Cloth Hall Court – with its prime location, and venue hire revenue directly supporting one of the UK’s leading institutions for higher education, delivers on these objectives. We’re proud to be further contributing to Leeds’ world-class offering for conferences and events.”

Claire Heap – Visitor Economy Manager at Conference Leeds adds: “It’s hugely exciting to see the return of Cloth Hall Court to the city’s conference venue portfolio, especially at a time when the city’s meeting and events sector is enjoying significant success.  Located in the heart of the city centre, Cloth Hall’s dedicated multi-purpose event spaces will offer event organisers many options for their conferences and events, whilst at the same time offering delegates a chance to enjoy the vibrancy of the city.”

A week ago we welcomed delegates from all over the country to join us in celebrating the grand opening of the Bragg Building! This brand new building is a part of our Chemistry and Engineering departments and owes its name to Sir William Henry Bragg, a Nobel Prize winning researcher who taught at the University of Leeds.

On Tuesday 7^th June, the Sir William Henry Bragg Building received the grand opening such a prestigious building deserves. Delegates were treated to a day of wonderful experiences across campus to celebrate the life of Sir William Henry Bragg as well as the importance of the building named after him. The Bragg Building aims to bring together scientists and engineers to discover, create, and design new materials. With state-of-the-art laboratories and teaching spaces, it will enable cutting edge research and strengthen collaboration between the University of Leeds and industries across the world.

Delegates were first welcomed to the iconic Parkinson Building for a welcome reception. Delegates were served a buffet lunch alongside drinks, all served by our experienced catering teams. While as the Parkinson Building, delegates were treated to a classical musical performance from some students at the University.

A variety of esteemed guests came and gave speeches at the School of Music, including Sir Adrian Smith, Prof Nora De Leuuw, and the Vice-Chancellor. The all gave credit to the amazing inspiration Sir William Bragg offered students and the incredible work that could take place in the building. Members of the Bragg family also joined us to celebrate the opening of the building, giving a fascinating speech into the life and times of the man the building owes its name to. Delegates were then given tours of the building accompanied by PhD students and researchers

Finally delegates were again given the chance to network and talk about the day celebrating the building. A series of performances from the Black Dyke Band helped to set the scene for the afternoon celebration at the Parkinson Building and Clothworkers Concert Hall. Dame Julia Higgins then gave a speech and the University’s galleries and libraries were opened for guests to explore.

The Sir William Bragg Building promises to be a cornerstone of the University of Leeds in years to come as it inspires students and offers a base for meaningful and impactful research across the country.

With #Leeds2023 a year away we have been reflecting on a few cultural events that we have hosted at the University of Leeds over the years. The opportunity to celebrate these fantastic events has really built up the excitement for #Leeds2023 and the year of culture! Click on the subheading to be taken to the article and read our full story about the event. The team behind #Leeds2023 had this to say about the event with a year to go:

“2023 is going to be a year that changes our extraordinary city forever and for the better. We’re embarking on a year-long celebration of culture, happening all over the city and everybody can be a part of it.”

Opera North Orchestra Academy and Orchestra Camp

First we revisited the exciting work of the Opera North Orchestra Academy and Orchestra Camp hosted in the University’s School of Music. The Opera North Orchestra Academy is aimed at 14-19 year olds and offers a fantastic experience for aspiring young musicians to receive world-class orchestral training. Last taking place in 2019, the camp offered an inspirational and supportive environment for everyone to learn and grow in confidence. Alongside practicing and rehearsing with professional musicians, the young delegates were able to benefit from a side-by-side rehearsal with a full orchestra and professional conductor. The eager young musicians were able to develop their technical and creative ability in an action-packed programme full of fun and high-quality teaching. Working with Opera North is such a fantastic opportunity to promote culture in younger people and we always love seeing them return to campus. Emma Barnett, Youth Orchestral Manager from Opera North says:

“Being able to host the students nearby to the Howard Opera Centre, in a safe and supportive environment at the University of Leeds, enables us to reach and support the development of young musicians across the North of England and beyond”

Photo Credit Justin Slee

Leeds International Piano Competition

We then celebrated the Leeds International Piano Competition, a key cultural event that the University has hosted since 1961. The competition is open to pianists under 30 from around the world and has always had a very close relationship with the University of Leeds. ‘The Leeds’, as it is affectionately known, took place from 8^th-18^th September 2019 and as is tradition held its semi-finals in the Great Hall. 22 Pianists from 19 countries went on to perform in the grand finals at Leeds City Hall. The Leeds International Piano Competition is a long standing partner and is a much celebrated cultural event celebrated across the city, we always look forward to working with them! Adam Gatehouse, Artistic Director for Leeds International Piano Competition, says

“We are thrilled to be able to hold the main part of the Competition in the University’s iconic Great Hall and enjoy access to the top-quality pianos of the University’s own Steinway School. All our competitors and jury members enjoy wonderful hospitality – the University staff are part of our family, and provide incredible support and enthusiasm for our young competitors.”

Mslexia

The final stop on our cultural journey was to reflect on Mslexicon 2019, an event run by Mslexia – A magazine for women who write covering the business and psychology of writing. Mslexicon was aimed at female creative writers, covering those interested in novels, short fiction, memoirs and many more types of non-fiction writing. The event allowed writers to nurture their craft and progress their career with help from leading agents, authors, tutors, and mentors. The group workshops and talks covered topics such as voice, character development, plot, as well as advice on publishing trends, creativity, and how to cope with the submissions process. Supporting events like Mslexicon is such an important part of supporting the city of Leeds to ensure everybody gets the chance to experience and share their cultural knowledge with those around them!

Looking Ahead

#Leeds2023 is just one year away and we have loved reflecting on our past events in order to build the excitement for what should be a fantastic year for the city of Leeds in 2023. At the University of Leeds we pride ourselves on being able to support the city by hosting great events such as those above. #Leeds2023 promises to deliver a cultural event the type of which the city has never experienced before and at the University of Leeds are excited to support a fantastic year of events.

“For one whole year (all 365 days, 12 months, and 500,000 minutes of it), this city is letting culture loose. We’re gonna create, make, perform, run, bake, eat, share, sing, speak, play and more besides. Because culture is everywhere in this city.”

In celebration of the #OneYearToGo campaign for Leeds 2023. We’re once again looking back at the cultural conferences and events we have hosted on campus.

Leeds 2023 is a yearlong celebration of culture across our city. Dance, art, sports, poetry and theatre will all take centre stage for the whole year.

The team behind it say:

“We think culture is everywhere in this city and this is our time to shout about it. We’re working with local, national and international artists and communities to create a celebration that’s for Leeds, with Leeds and inspired by Leeds.”

One of our key cultural events is the Leeds International Piano Competition, which we have been proud to be involved with for many years.

The competition which is open to pianists under 30 from around the world. Has had a close relationship with the University of Leeds since its earliest days in 1961. Let’s take a look back to the 2021 event.

Despite having to hold preliminary rounds online, ‘The Leeds’ (as it is affectionately known) took place from 8th-18th September in person. We were so pleased to host the second round and the semi-finals in the Great Hall on campus as is tradition. 22 pianists from 19 countries performed across 3 days leading to the spectacular finals in Leeds Town Hall.

Alim Beisembayev, 23 year old pianist from Kazakhstan, took first prize after his performance alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Winning the competition is widely regarded as one of the most coveted prizes in the musical world.

The event was a glittering finale to the triennial piano competition which – with the University as its principal partner – has seen every aspect of the instrument celebrated by a global audience.

Adam Gatehouse, Artistic Director for Leeds International Piano Competition, says

“Our relationship with the University of Leeds began in 1963 and is completely unique in the world of competitions as a partnership between one of the world’s leading music competitions and one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

We are thrilled to be able to hold the main part of the Competition in the University’s iconic Great Hall and enjoy access to the top-quality pianos of the University’s own Steinway School. All our competitors and jury members enjoy wonderful hospitality – the University staff are part of our family, and provide incredible support and enthusiasm for our young competitors.

A hugely rewarding aspect of our partnership is our internships and volunteering programme. This offers University of Leeds students the chance to gain valuable experience in a variety of roles which bring the competition to the world, whether it is as production assistants, supporting fundraising, driving cultural engagement on our community Leeds Piano Trail, or providing a warm welcome to audiences at events.

Our global reach, particularly through our online streaming with Medici.tv, enables us to reach out to alumni and networks worldwide, and we are able to develop new thinking together in areas where we have mutual interests, such as digital transformation and community engagement.

We are truly fortunate to have such a forward-looking and vibrant organisation as our Principal Partner.”

Alongside the main competition there was a varied range of concerts and events. Designed to showcase the talents of all involved. This included the Leeds Piano Trail – 11 beautifully decorated pianos and 10 sculptures spaced across the city. Which provided an opportunity for anyone to safely play and enjoy the piano for free. Community groups and professional artists transformed the instruments into works of art, including one located in campus inside LUU. The trail encouraged people in Leeds to explore the city and to come together once again.

Harriet Boatwright, Sales and Marketing Manager at MeetinLeeds, says

“We are so very proud of the partnership we have with Leeds International Piano Competition and love how global the event continues to be. As we look to welcome the City of Culture to Leeds in 2023, as a conference team we are driven to ensure that cultural activities remains a crucial part of our event delivery throughout the year and more importantly beyond.  We welcome and look forward to the opportunity to work with the University of Leeds core partners, among the many; Northern Ballet, Opera North and Leeds Museums and Galleries.”