Hundreds of historic Leeds United programmes from Elland Road donated to Leeds museum
A selection will become a permanent addition to the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection, with the rest being passed to the West Yorkshire Archives Service.
The collection includes hundreds of match programmes, pennants and trading cards from the 1960s to the present day.
More than half a century of incredible moments from Leeds United at Elland Road have been documented through match programmes and memorabilia, and now a super fan collection of old and new programmes are going to become a public display of the city’s sporting heritage.
A huge collection was recently handed over to the city’s museums service, where it is now being carefully catalogued and documented as part of a project exploring key moments in Leeds’s unique sporting story.
Donated by a family of lifelong fans, highlights of the impressive collection include a programme from the club’s memorable Champions League semi-final first leg clash with Spanish giants Valencia in May 2001. The tie finished 0-0, with David O’Leary’s young side going on to suffer a heart-breaking 3-0 defeat in the second leg, missing out on a place in the final.
Football fans will also be excited to see a historic matchday programme from the club’s January 1969 meeting with arch-rivals Manchester United in the collection. The season saw Leeds win the First Division title for the first time in the club’s history.
Other notable inclusions are the programme from the December 2011 game with Millwall, the first home match following the tragic death of club legend Gary Speed, and a programme from a friendly with Ajax in 1977 which was played as part of the Silver Jubilee.
Image: Leeds City Council
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “Leeds United have been such a massive and integral part of the city’s story for more than a century, and each new generation of fans have had their own experiences and memories of this extraordinary club.
“It’s wonderful to see the club’s heritage being preserved as part of our museums collection and to know that sport is being celebrated for the vitally important role it plays in life in Leeds.”
Amy Thraves-Connor has been working on a placement with Leeds Museums and Galleries, examining the past, present and future of sport in Leeds and how sport is represented in the city’s museums collection.
Image: Leeds City Council
Amy said: “There’s so much history there and it’s been fascinating to see how so many different elements of the club’s story have been captured in these programmes – it’s such an impressive collection and almost like a time capsule.
“Some of my favourites were the programmes which looked at the Rainbow Laces campaign and those which had some powerful anti-racism messages. From those you can see what an important part football plays in society as well as in sport.”
Once the programmes have been catalogued, a selection will become a permanent addition to the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection, with the rest being passed to the West Yorkshire Archives Service.
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Sophie Smith -
10th March 2022 
