Leeds International Festival 2020 – Dates and Deadlines Announced

It may only be a matter of weeks since the curtain fell on another successful Leeds International Festival, but an event of this magnitude doesn’t allow for much time off. In fact, the hard work for May 2020 starts now.

First off, the dates. Next year’s festival will run from April 30th - May 9th and the Open Call for artists has already begun. But don’t worry; if you’re a speaker, artist, musician, comedian or want to be involved in any way, the Call lasts until 6th September, so you’ve still got a bit of time to prepare your pitch.

There’s one certainty and that is that the world of tomorrow will be very different

They have also revealed a theme for next year – Generation Future. Applicants have been instructed to think about how their performance, discussion or art will interact with the overarching theme, and what it might mean to people. And as always, the final line-up will be a diverse representation of talent from within Leeds, the country and the world as a whole.

Gemma Holsgrove, Leeds International Festival Executive, said, “With humanity coming to terms with the fact that we are causing unprecedented global change, there’s one certainty and that is that the world of tomorrow will be very different and future generations will inhabit a very different world to that which we do today. 

There’s the opportunity to explore what we as a generation do to shape the future, rather than have it shape us."

The fourth Leeds International Festival will have some impressive numbers to top in order to carry on the event’s upward trend. May 2019 saw 19 venues showcase 62 events for over 15,000 people, with headline names like John Cooper Clarke. Frank Bruno MBE and Dame Sarah Storey, as well as music from Tommy Cash, Daniel Avery and more to be announced.