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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.

The story so far...

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. Read more...

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    Our Thoughts on Leeds in Barcelona 2011

    A few words from the participants and people involved

    "The event A Creative Encounter that took place last week-end in Barcelona was the opportunity to confront two artistic cultures, two fashion concepts, two creative ways of life expressed through the words of Barcelona and Leeds based music and fashion professionals.  It was a two-part event that started with a conference at IED Barcelona and concluded with an ambitious but exceptional party that featured a number of talents of the Leeds fashion and music scene. iCS delighted the audience with a lively performance and the impromptu fashion show alternated professional and amateur models featuring creations by talented designers Dom Dick & Harry and James Steward.  From 1 am, the crowd could dance to the rhythm of DJ Dave Beer’s (from Back to Basics) music on the 6th floor of Hotel Me or enjoy relaxing moments by the pool of the terrace of the club if they wished to.  To most, the party was a blast. To us, it was the opportunity to push our limits and exceed our expectations.  Leeds came across as a truly creative and trendy city that is a nest to a variety of talents still away from reaching their full potential… which is a good thing as these young talents promise to mesmerize many more in the years to come".

    Igor, LeLook

    “2 BacktoBasics mafiosa, 2 designers, 4 musicians, 1 film maker, 5 media moguls, 2 marketeers, 1 techy, 1 Columbian, 1 American, 2 Parisian bloggers and 21 artists sponsored by Heineken went to Barcelona to show people how to be awesome.”

    Guiseppe De Luca (lead singer of ICS)

    “We believe the city is developing a unique creative story which is a key component of our distinctive offer.  The creative talent on the delegation met and forged relationships with a signifincant number of relevant counterparts including club promoters, buyers and the press and we look forward to the reporting the results over the next few weeks.”

    Deborah Green (CEO of Marketing Leeds)

    “Joining the delegation to Barcelona gave me the opportunity to showcase my collection to completely new audience, including national Spanish television and it was great to have the opportunity to support the marketing of the city in an innovative.  Whilst Barcelona is considered to be one of the style capitals of the world, it was the creative scene in Leeds that shone through as the one to watch.”

    James Steward, James Steward Couture