Businesses from Leeds and Yorkshire will be taking part in one of the largest overseas delegations for the city, to the Spanish business centre of Barcelona.

Following on from the Leeds in Milan festival of Commerce and Culture in 2008, Marketing Leeds is working with UK Trade & Investment to deliver ‘Leeds in Barcelona - a Festival of Commerce and Culture’, from 23rd-25th March.

The three day event will give Spanish audiences a snapshot of business and culture from the city of Leeds. The festival is designed to give Leeds businesses the opportunity to showcase their sectors, skills and expertise and in doing so, raise the profile of Leeds as a dynamic, internationally competitive city.

A wide range of business sectors will be represented throughout the event including legal, financial, cultural, creative & digital, property, hotels & tourism. In addition to these sector specific delegations, UKTI Yorkshire and Humber will bring a delegation of 20 Leeds and Yorkshire businesses under their International Business Network (IBN) programme.

The Leeds in Barcelona festival has an ambitious schedule of events including a public private partnerships seminar, a ‘meet the buyer’s’ workshop organised by Leeds Hotels Association, an event with Leeds Legal on the successful marketing of law firms, a prestigious civic reception, and an event on university- industry collaborations organised with the University of Leeds, as well as various international business networking opportunities. These are set to introduce hundreds of Spanish business leaders to Leeds, build relationships and develop commercial opportunities for both cities.



The centrepiece event of the festival will be the ‘Live from Leeds’ performance featuring Northern Ballet Theatre, Opera North and Phoenix Dance in a bespoke performance piece created for the Leeds in Barcelona festival.

In addition to these events, Marketing Leeds has a strong marketing and PR campaign including a partnership with La Vanguardia, the highest circulation newspaper in Catalonia and fourth most read in Spain, the aim of which is to promote Leeds as a premier business and leisure destination.

Deborah Green, chief executive of Marketing Leeds, explains: “This event is a great opportunity for Spanish businesses to explore doing business in the UK, and to build some significant relationships with professionals in Leeds.

“The festival will provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate the expertise and strengths of our cultural and business sectors, to an international audience. I am looking forward to meeting with business leaders in the city to develop relationships and opportunities for trade between Leeds and Barcelona.”

Mark Robson, UKTI’s International Trade Director for Yorkshire and Humber said: “We are pleased to be involved again with Marketing Leeds on an overseas initiative. The combination of business and cultural delegations provides a good opportunity to showcase the strength of Leeds and the wider regional economy to overseas markets. Previous overseas events with Marketing Leeds and the UKTI teams in overseas markets have produced some great business results for companies. We look forward to future cooperation.”

Andrew Gwatkin, Consul General for Barcelona said: “We are delighted to be part of the Leeds in Barcelona festival and in a true spirit of partnership it is great to be able to bring together key players from both cities. The commercial events within the festival are focused on important sectors with the aim of promoting trade and investment opportunities for everyone involved. We are looking forward to three excellent days."


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