Leeds 2023: What Did It Do For Me?

By Becca Healy

Over a year after the celebrations around Leeds 2023, Becca analyses the impact on the city.

Photo of Leeds Train Station by Becca Healy

Following the fall out from Brexit, Leeds as the European City of Culture in 2023 was in doubt. The City decided to ignore the disqualification and press ahead with the celebration. It is hard to know whether the drive was a success or a massive waste of money. As a resident and observer, it seems the latter. Despite vowing to bring a ‘lasting legacy’, this legacy feels either embarrassing or largely non-existent. 

The opening ceremony at Headingley Stadium was a strange spectacle. Leeds residents were encouraged to submit a piece of art to access the event. I sent in a poem about my time in Leeds and was assigned a few tickets to go with my housemates. A free ticket will always draw more people to an event. I was delighted to experience Headingley stadium as despite living around the corner, I’d never set foot in there. Sadly, rugby and cricket are not my sports of choice. 

There were touching moments of the performance, with a large group of kid-rock stars performing Leeds heroes’ ‘I predict a Riot’ and Simon Armitage’s band Lyr recounting a poetic song all about the city. However, a giant brick man was projected halfway through Corinne Bailey-Rae’s rendition of ‘Girl Put Your Records On’, emerging from the River Aire. I couldn’t quite work out what the storyline was and really just wanted to hear the end of this girls' night classic. This, for me represented the problems with Leeds 2023. The confusion and lack of joining-up of projects was there for all to see. 

Whilst you can hardly criticise some of the campaigns as lovely ideas. One that seems particularly poignant, is the gathering of stories by the over 60s and the creation of an art piece to reflect this. Engaging people in the loneliest age group to feel important and valued in their community is surely. However, does anyone know where this art is? Would it not have been more ideal to bring these people together to share these cultural memories? 

Another example of a lovely idea was the building of the Women of The World Barn, erected by women and marginalised genders on Cinder Moor. Known to locals as that bit on the other side of Woodhouse Moor where the circus sometimes is. The coming together of these people and the accomplishment of building a venue, usually built by men cannot be understated. However, it was put up only to be put down again in two weeks! Where is the legacy of that?

I popped into the city centre and asked a few street-walkers whether they remember Leeds 2023. No one did. There are no obvious, visible reminders in the centre that I could see. The BBC reported that £6 million was spent by the council, with extra money coming in from the National Lottery and The Arts Council. With so many arts venues not being able to afford their rent and the council deciding to close the Air Street workshops, surely this money could have been spent more efficiently elsewhere. For Leeds’ culture to thrive, it needs the investment in the arts and music. If there are no venues that foster culture, culture will die.

The publicity around Leeds 2023 and its drive to put Leeds on the map still remains important. Leeds has a unique and diverse culture. It deserves to be taken seriously as a cultural player in both the UK and the world stage. What left more of a mark on me than Leeds 2023 was the Jamaican Society’s ‘Out of Many Festival’. It was composed of events and exhibitions, showcasing the city’s Caribbean community and its history. It even saw a visit by King Charles to its ‘Rebellion to Romance’ exhibition. 

Leeds 2023, however, was a failed opportunity to showcase and inspire the culture that makes this city so appealing. The gimmicky events fostered a temporality that added little to a culture that is on a financial lifeline. The opportunity to put Leeds on the map in this period largely failed. The people of Leeds will continue to do their best, against the odds, to keep culture thriving and I’m sure would have loved that £6 million to be used more wisely.