The magic of the Harry Potter universe is coming to Yorkshire after fans voted in their thousands for a gigantic display of magic wands to travel to the region as part of a UK tour.
A week-long light display will bring nine 15ft tall wands from the fantasy world of witches and wizards to Hull later this year.
Originally, they should have arrived in the city last November as part of the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them launch, but the display was delayed by the pandemic.
Now, a new date has been confirmed creating excitement amongst Harry Potter stands across the region.
They will appear in Hull's Queen Victoria Square from 2 March as part of a week-long light show, accompanied by thrilling music from both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film series.
Image: Wizarding World
Created in support of Harry Potter creator and author J K Rowling's Lumos Foundation, which works to reunite children in institutions with their families, the giant wands previously appeared in London in 2019.
Illuminated near St Paul's Cathedral, they lit up the walkway between the historic house of worship and Millennium Bridge every night from 6.45pm.
Now, they'll be coming to Hull as part of a new UK tour that will also take the glowing magic sticks to Birmingham, Stoke on Trent and Reading later this year.
Hull reportedly had more votes than any other city in the UK, and as such as been chosen as the first city for them to visit outside of London.
Image: Wizarding World
The wands' arrival has been timed to coincide with the launch of the newest Fantastic Beasts film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which will land in cinemas on 8 April.
Towering up high at 15ft tall, they'll be held in place in concrete bases and light up the sky every night to create a magical spectacle that's sure to appeal to fans of all ages.
Polly Cochrane, Country Manager WarnerMedia UK & Ireland, said: “We are delighted that this stunning installation will be touring for the first time next month and the magic will be shared with even more fans.
“Following a nationwide vote, it’s exciting to know that we’re bringing the wands to the biggest Wizarding World fans across the UK as we celebrate the upcoming release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”
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.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Georgina Pellant -
9th February 2022 
