Leeds Gets Creative

Leeds has submitted its first stage bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023. If successful, it could be a transformative moment for the city

- Tony Greenway

CREATIVELY speaking, Leeds has always been something of a peach. For a start, it’s home to the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the North’s flagship theatre, and the internationally recognised opera company, Opera North. Then there’s the Northern Ballet, one of the world’s greatest ballet companies; the iconic City Varieties Music Hall; myriad innovative arts organisations such as Phoenix Dance, East Street Arts and Red Ladder and fascinating museums. The city has an incredible cultural heritage, too, giving the world Alan Bennett, Peter O’Toole, Malcolm McDowell, Keith Waterhouse, Helen Fielding, Kay Mellor, Damien Hirst and – oh yes – Ernie Wise.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

So why is there this nagging feeling, outside of Yorkshire at any rate, that Leeds is punching below its creative weight? The cultural noise the city is making should be deafening but it just doesn’t seem to be cutting through on a national level in any meaningful way.

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council and executive member for economy and culture, thinks it might be because the word ‘Leeds’ doesn’t figure in the names of some of the leading arts organisations that are based here. ‘For example, it’s Northern Ballet, not Leeds Ballet,’ she says. ‘Same with West Yorkshire Playhouse and Opera North. There’s a feeling that we haven’t got across what an incredible place Leeds is, so we’ve been on a journey to promote the city wherever we can and tell people about the great, innovative, creative work that’s done here.’