After two years of missing Pride celebrations off our calendars, we're so excited to see the return of Leeds Pride.
Leeds Pride has announced that Sunday 7 August 2022 will mark the 17th annual Pride event in the city centre.
Pride in Leeds is one of a very few free Pride events in the UK and in 2019 attracted over 65,000 people making it one of the biggest events held in the city centre, so you can bet that this year, the celebrations will be more exciting than ever before.
The news comes after the unveiling of 16 rainbow flag paving stones between The Calls and Lower Briggate in the Freedom Quarter of Leeds last week.
As a landmark occasion for Leeds, the return of Pride is huge news to the LGBT+ community, but the celebrations will still look slightly different than the pre-pandemic version.
No stalls or sponsorships have been announced just yet, but information is expected to become available in the coming weeks. Artists to perform at the event will be requested in May.
The biggest change will be to the parade. This year, the parade will be named the Robert Payne Parade and will have a new route added to it for 2022.
Image: Leeds Freedom Bridge, Twitter
Named after Robert Payne from Blayds Bar who sadly passed away in December 2021, many may remember Robert as 'Drag with no Frock' who worked tirelessly with husband Duncan to run Blayds Bar in Leeds for over ten years.
Husband Duncan and daughter Gemma are fundraising for Pride in Robert's memory on JustGiving.
"Robert was a huge supporter in Leeds Pride every year. We would like to help raise as much money as we can to an event that can be overlooked and seen as a party however it helps so many people. Leeds pride is an event that takes place every year in the lower part of Leeds city centre. We are asking everyone who knew Robert to donate if you can.
Image: Leeds Pride
Speaking about the return of Pride, Jonathon Pryor, Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council has said:
"Pride in Leeds is one of the most important events of the year. We are so proud to be a diverse and inclusive city, and Leeds Pride is always a great celebration of our LGBT+ community and our freedom of expression.
"Prides around the world began as a protest, a declaration that as LGBT+ people our lives are valid and should be celebrated. We must remember that being gay is still punishable by death in 7 countries and a further 70 will imprison citizens for their sexual orientation. Pride represents a sense of belonging, and a celebration of being accepted for being your authentic self.
"We have sorely missed this chance to celebrate fully over the past two years and we are so excited that Pride 2022 will be back to full strength!"
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.
Sophie Smith -
22nd February 2022 
