Video: Saddle up for 2014 Yorkshire Festival

SADDLE up for the cultural ride of a lifetime – that was the message today as plans were announced for one of the biggest arts extravaganzas Leeds has ever seen.

The Yorkshire Festival 2014 will run in tandem with the White Rose county’s hosting of the opening two stages of this year’s Tour de France cycle race.

It will get under way on March 27, exactly 100 days before the Tour’s Grand Depart is held in Leeds on July 5.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Yorkshire Water’s parent company, Kelda Group, was today (January 13) confirmed as one of the arts event’s main supporters.

And to mark the occasion, Yorkshire Water took the wraps off a giant banny at its Lower Laithe reservoir near Haworth.

Exact details of the festival’s programme are being kept under wraps until the end of this month.

But the event’s executive producer, Henrietta Duckworth, has told arts lovers in Leeds and the rest of the county that they will not be disappointed by what is in store.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “As one of the region’s biggest environmental investors, employers and landowners, Yorkshire Water has recognised what a fantastic opportunity the festival is for our region.

“They are exploring how local communities and arts organisations can engage with their employees and utilise their land and reservoir sites.

“With this support, we have been able to create an ambitious festival programme featuring world-class artists built around a core of participatory opportunities, across all art-forms, taking place throughout the county for audiences from Yorkshire and beyond.”