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Leeds in Barcelona 2011

Leeds takes on Barcelona for a creative encounter!
A collective of Leeds’ creative talent headed to Barcelona this May as Marketing Leeds returned to the Spanish city to promote Leeds’ emerging creative economy and further strengthen the ties between the two cities.
 
Following on from the success of the original ‘Leeds in Barcelona’ event in 2010, Marketing Leeds worked with Leeds based company Hebe Media and one of Spain’s most influential fashion websites, LeLook, on ‘Leeds in Barcelona - a creative encounter’ which took place from 20th – 22nd May.
 
The Leeds collective included fashion designers, musicians and key influencers from the creative sector whose work will be used to showcase the city.  An audience of over 900 opinion formers from Barcelona were treated to a snapshot of Leeds through a number of fashion events and performances.
 
The innovative ‘showcase’ event highlighted to those in Barcelona, one of the World’s most renowned creative cities, that Leeds is the ‘one to watch’ in the future.

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    Leeds in Barcelona 2010

    March 2010

    Phoenix Dance perform in Barcelona as part of Leeds in Barcelona 2010

    115 delegates departed from Leeds to join Leeds in Barcelona, a three-day festival of commerce and culture. The aim of the festival was to increase the profile of Leeds in Barcelona and wider Catalonia and to forge long term business trade links between the two cities so as to contribute to the continued economic prosperity for both cities. A series of  30 events took place across the three days, including seminars, conferences and networking events, culminating in a one-off bespoke performance by Northern Ballet, Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre in the presence of the British Ambassador to Spain attended by key local civic and business leaders from Barcelona and wider Catalonia.


    Following on from the event the cities have formed a strong working relationship - our legal communities were jointly awarded funding from the EU commission to aid cross-referrals and to support a project to share best practise through secondments.  We also teamed up with Barcelona for a panel debate at the international property fair, MIPIM to explore the important role culture plays in attracting major investment and are now looking forward to welcoming representatives of Barcelona City Council to Leeds this July.  Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre have also returned to perform at events in Spain and Leeds companies have signed with counterparts in Barcelona.

    A Reception for Barcelona’s Creative Scene

    Creatives from Leeds and Barcelona gather for a reception.One of the key events in the ‘Leeds in Barcelona’ festival programme was a reception organised for us by Hebe Media, where we met with 40 of Barcelona’s most influential bloggers and trend researchers from the world of fashion, art and music.  We enjoyed meeting these inspiring people and were delighted to have the opportunity to host many of them in Leeds in May 2010. 

    As part of the programme of events for the Barcelona creatives who came to Leeds in May 2010 a photo shoot was arranged at Temple Works.We were overwhelmed with the positive coverage we received from our new friends and the feedback they gave us about the trip:

    “I was expecting to come to Leeds and see a really grey, industrial city, but when I arrived I thought ‘wow’ this place is very cool.” 

    Fie, Stop Stealing My Look

    “A truly mesmerising and inspiring place….innovative yet traditional, holding a great balance of the two….the city of Leeds beams with constant innovation in every corner however, it keeps true to its traditional values...It’s friendly residents and inviting atmosphere made me feel right at home.”  

    Vanessa, IED

    We arrived [back] in Barcelona with a head full of names of the contacts we made and the satisfaction of having succeeded in revealing an unexpected cool [city].  Mission accomplished.”

    Igor, LeLook

    May 2011

    We are now delighted to be returning to Barcelona to showcase our city’s emerging creative economy to a much wider audience to further strengthen the ties between the two cities.  This Marketing Leeds event is being organised by Leeds based company Hebe Media and one of Spain’s most influential fashion websites, LeLook.

    Igor and Carole from LeLook talking to one of last year's reception attendees.The two day ‘creative encounter’ will feature a showcase event with fashion shows from a selection of the city’s top designers including James Steward, Leeds foremost designer and exciting fashion labels Dom, Dick & Harry and BDW.  Music will be provided by up and coming Leeds band ICS who will showcase their new ep at the event and the evening will finish with a DJ set from world renowned club night BacktoBasics.
     
    The trip will also include a conversation in front of a live audience with representatives of the European Institute of Design (IED).  We will explore ways in which a city can support it’s creative talent and the importance of creative industries to helping sustain and grow a city’s economy.  Delegates will also take part in a series of one to one meetings with counterparts in Barcelona to build business relationships.
     
    The project will be captured in a documentary by Leeds based filmmaker Matt Maude of Left Eye Blind.
     
    This project will provide us with the opportunity to build on our relationship with one of the world’s most creative cities and to demonstrate some of the great things that we are doing in Leeds, marking the city out as the one to watch in the UK.