ConferenceLeeds’ first ambassador event with Northern Ballet celebrates culture in Leeds in support of European Capital of Culture 2023 bid

ConferenceLeeds and its conference ambassadors have pledged support for Leeds’ bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023, following Northern Ballet’s world premiere of Casanova in the city recently. Further support for the bid has also been recently announced, with high-profile sponsors including Yorkshire Bank, Yorkshire Building Society and Yorkshire Water.

ConferenceLeeds launched its proactive search to find conference ambassadors across the city in 2016, in its key sectors of healthcare, digital, professional services and manufacturing. Since then, several conference ambassadors have joined the programme to support the city’s ambition to drive business tourism to the region and build on 2016’s success, with Leeds’ move to become the fifth most popular conference destination in the UK in the most recent British Meetings and Events Industry Survey.

The world premiere of Casanova at Leeds Grand Theatre gave ConferenceLeeds the opportunity to bring its conference ambassadors together for the first time, to raise the profile of how this crucial role contributes to bringing major national and international conferences into the city.

Jennifer Young, Head of ConferenceLeeds, commented:
“The bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023 is a very exciting time for Leeds and it’s something that the whole city is getting behind. Events like this enable us to showcase what our city does best to key stakeholders throughout the region and nationally, with the aim of placing culture in Leeds in the spotlight on a global stage. Our conference ambassador programme illustrates how businesses across the region are working together, and it’s this collaboration that has led to success over the past few months. The programme has really started to gain momentum recently, so we’re excited to see what the rest of 2017 has in store for Leeds.”

Crys Whitewoods, Director of Development at Northern Ballet, commented:
“At Northern Ballet, we are all immensely proud of our new production – Casanova – and the premiere was a fantastic showcase for the company. We have a longstanding reputation for developing new and creative work and for promoting the artistic excellence present in Leeds, through our nationwide tours. Working collaboratively with ConferenceLeeds and its conference ambassadors means that we can help to support them in continuing to drive business tourism to our home city and the wider region. Our partnership has provided numerous, mutually beneficial opportunities and has helped to reach out to new stakeholders across the UK and worldwide.”

For more information about ConferenceLeeds and the conference ambassador programme, visit: https://goo.gl/XUp5iB