Some of the world's most loved queens will be coming to Leeds this Christmas for a special festive show featuring the stars of Ru Paul's Drag Race, it has been revealed.
Stars from the hit UK show, including The Vivienne and BagaChipz, will be turning up in Leeds for one night only for the Christmas Xtravaganza at 02 Academy Leeds.
Taking place on Monday 13 December, the show promises to bring all the high energy, drama and glamour or the hit TV show to Leeds this Christmas - featuring a host of stars from RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Canada, and the US series.
RuPaul's Drag Race winner THE Vivienne performing at Manchester Pride this summer / Image: The Vivienne
So far, as well as the UK favourites BagaChipz and The Vivienne, it has also been revealed that Ginny Lemon, Latrice Royale, Olivia Lux, and Priyanka will be taking part in the run of shows - which will cover the breadth of the UK and Ireland.
And on top of that, there are six more queens on the line-up still to be revealed.
As well as stopping off in Leeds, the Drag Race stars will also be landing in Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham, Liverpool, London, Cardiff, Southampton, Manchester, Norwich, Sheffield, Colchester, Newcastle, Stockton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin and Belfast between 27 November and 2 December 2021.
The show is coming to Leeds' O2 Academy this December / Image: Viagogo
The Leeds 02 Academy is billing the show as: "Christmas production, drag market and so much more. Shantay, You Sleigh! On O2?"
Tickets will go on general sale at 9 am on Friday, 1 October.
The full list of tour dates is listed below:
Saturday 27 November 2021 - DUBLIN Olympia Theatre Monday 29 November 2021 - BELFAST Waterfront Hall Wednesday 1 December 2021 - PLYMOUTH Pavilions Friday 3 December 2021 - BRISTOL Marble Factory Saturday 5 December2021 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City Sunday 5 December 2021 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham Tuesday 7 December 2021 - LIVERPOOL Eventim Olympia Wednesday 8 December 2021 - LONDON Eventim Apollo Friday 10 December 2021 - CARDIFF University Great Hall Saturday 11 December 2021 - SOUTHAMPTON City Hall Oval Monday 13 December 2021 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds Tuesday 14 December 2021 - MANCHESTER TBC Thursday 16 December 2021 - NORWICH UEA Friday 17 December 2021 - SHEFFIELD O2 Guildhall Saturday 18 December 2021 - COLCHESTER Charter Hall Sunday 19 December 2021 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 City Hall Tuesday 21 December 2021 - STOCKTON TBC Wednesday 22 December 2021 - EDINBURGH TBC Thursday 23 December 2021 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
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 -
30th September 2021 
