View source for Leeds

{{Short description|City in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{About|the city|the district|City of Leeds|other uses}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Leeds
| type = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City]]
| civil_parish = 
| country = England
| region = Yorkshire and the Humber
| coordinates = {{coord|53|47|51|N|01|32|37|W|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference = SE299339
| pushpin_map = United Kingdom Leeds
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within [[City of Leeds]]
| post_town = LEEDS
| postcode_area = LS
| postcode_district = LS1-20, LS25-27
| dial_code = 0113
| metropolitan_borough = [[City of Leeds|Leeds]]
| metropolitan_county = [[West Yorkshire]]
| population = 536,280
| population_ref = ([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 estimate]]; [[Office for National Statistics|ONS]])<ref name="2021census">{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/dvc2257a/fig1/datadownload.xlsx|title=Figure 1: Explore population characteristics of individual BUAs |access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 111.6
| static_image = {{multiple images|border=infobox|perrow=1/2/2/2/2|total_width=270px
 | image1 = Leeds CBD at night.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Leeds city centre]]
 | image2 = Town Hall Leeds.jpg
 | caption2 = [[Leeds Town Hall|Town Hall]]
 | image3 = County Arcade (2022).jpg 	
 | caption3 = [[Victoria Leeds#Victoria Quarter|County Arcade]]
 | image4 = Granary Wharf Flickr 16 June 2023 2.jpg 	
 | caption4 = [[Granary Wharf]]
 | image5 = The Dock Leeds.jpg
 | caption5 = [[Leeds Dock]]
 | image6 = South side of Leeds Minster - geograph.org.uk - 7718347.jpg
 | caption6 = [[Leeds Minster|Minster]]
 | image7 = Trinity Leeds Shopping.jpg
 | caption7 = [[Trinity Leeds]]
 | image8 = City Square Leeds Central.jpg
 | caption8 = [[City Square, Leeds#buildings|City Square]]
 | image9 = Civic Hall.jpg 	
 | caption9 = [[Leeds Civic Hall|Civic Hall]]
   }}
| static_image_caption = 
| static_image_2 = Coat of Arms of Leeds City Council.svg
| static_image_2_caption = Coat of arms
| static_image_2_width = 100px
| constituency_westminster = [[Leeds Central and Headingley (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds Central and Headingley]]
| constituency_westminster1 = [[Leeds East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds East]]
| constituency_westminster2 = [[Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds North East]]
| constituency_westminster3 = [[Leeds North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds North West]]
| constituency_westminster4 = [[Leeds South (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds South]]
| constituency_westminster5 = [[Leeds South West and Morley (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds South West and Morley]]
| constituency_westminster6 = [[Leeds West and Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds West and Pudsey]]
| constituency_westminster7 = [[Selby (UK Parliament constituency)|Selby]]
| constituency_westminster8 = [[Wakefield and Rothwell (UK Parliament constituency)|Wakefield and Rothwell]]<br>[[Wetherby and Easingwold (UK Parliament constituency)|Wetherby and Easingwold]]
| website = {{URL|https://leeds.gov.uk}}
| parts_type = Areas of the city
| p1 = [[Adel, Leeds|Adel]]
| p2 = [[Alwoodley]]
| p3 = [[Armley]]
| p4 = [[Beeston, Leeds|Beeston]]
| p5 = [[Belle Isle, Leeds|Belle Isle]]
| p6 = Black Moor
| p7 = [[Bramley, Leeds|Bramley]]
| p8 = [[Burley, Leeds|Burley]]
| p9 = [[Chapel Allerton]]
| p10 = [[Chapeltown, Leeds|Chapeltown]]
| p11 = [[Churwell]]
| p12 = [[Leeds City Centre|City Centre]]
| p13 = [[Colton, Leeds|Colton]]
| p14 = [[Cookridge]]
| p15 = [[Cross Gates]]
| p16 = [[Far Headingley]]
| p17 = [[Gamble Hill]]
| p18 = [[Gipton]]
| p19 = [[Gledhow]]
| p20 = [[Halton, Leeds|Halton]]
| p21 = [[Harehills]]
| p22 = [[Hawksworth, Leeds|Hawksworth]]
| p23 = [[Headingley]]
| p24 = [[Hunslet]]
| p26 = [[Hyde Park, Leeds|Hyde Park]]
| p27 = [[Killingbeck]]
| p28 = [[Kirkstall]]
| p29 = [[Knowsthorpe]]
| p30 = [[Lawnswood]]
| p31 = [[Leeds Dock]]
| p32 = [[Little London, Leeds|Little London]]
| p33 = [[Manston, Leeds|Manston]]
| p34 = [[Middleton, Leeds|Middleton]]
| p35 = [[Moor Allerton]]
| p37 = [[Moorside, Leeds|Moorside]]
| p38 = [[Moortown, Leeds|Moortown]]
| p39 = [[New Farnley]]
| p40 = [[Oakwood, Leeds|Oakwood]]
| p41 = [[Osmondthorpe]]
| p42 = [[Pendas Fields]]
| p43 = [[Rodley, West Yorkshire|Rodley]]
| p44 = [[Roundhay]]
| p45 = [[Seacroft]]
| p46 = [[Sheepscar]]
| p47 = [[Stourton, Leeds|Stourton]]
| p48 = [[The Calls]]
| p49 = [[West Park, Leeds|West Park]]
| p50 = [[Wortley, Leeds|Wortley]]
}}
'''Leeds''' is a [[City status in the United Kingdom|city]]{{efn|The area that is the subject of this article does not have legal city status itself, but is widely regarded as a city since it is the main and nominate settlement in the City of Leeds local government area}} in [[West Yorkshire]], England. It is the largest settlement in [[Yorkshire]] and the administrative centre of the [[City of Leeds |City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough]], which is the [[List of English districts by population|second most populous district]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. It is built around the [[River Aire]] and is in the eastern foothills of the [[Pennines]]. The city was a small manorial borough in the 13th century and a [[market town]] in the 16th century. It expanded by becoming a major production and trading centre (mainly with [[wool]]) in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Leeds developed as a [[mill town]] during the [[Industrial Revolution]] alongside other surrounding villages and towns in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]. It was also known for its [[flax]] industry, [[Foundry|iron foundries]], engineering and printing, as well as shopping, with several surviving [[Victorian era]] arcades, such as [[Leeds Kirkgate Market|Kirkgate Market]].<ref name="ene">{{cite web |title=Leeds and West Yorkshire |url=https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/yorkshire-leeds-west-yorkshire/ |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=England's North East }}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Burt|Grady|1994|p=92}}</ref> City status was awarded in 1893, and a populous urban centre formed in the following century which absorbed surrounding villages and overtook the population of nearby [[York]].<ref name="ene"/><ref>{{cite web |date=14 March 2021 |title=A History of Leeds |url=https://localhistories.org/a-history-of-leeds/ |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=Local Histories }}</ref>

Leeds' economy is the most diverse of all the UK's main employment centres, has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of private to [[public sector]] jobs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Investment and development in Leeds |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-economy/investment-and-development |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=www.leeds.gov.uk }}</ref> Leeds is home to over 109,000 companies, generating 5% of England's total economic output of £60.5&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{cite web |title=Why West Yorkshire |url=https://www.investwestyorkshire.com/why-west-yorkshire/ |website=West Yorkshire Combined Authority.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Strength Through Diversity: Leeds |url=http://www.leedscityregion.gov.uk/content.aspx?id=382&terms=financial+centre |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007080344/http://www.leedscityregion.gov.uk/content.aspx?id=382&terms=financial+centre |archive-date=7 October 2011 |access-date=31 March 2011 |work=leedscityregion.gov.uk}}</ref> and is also ranked as a [[Global city#GaWC study|high sufficiency city]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-05-24|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Global city#GaWC study|reason= The anchor (GaWC study) [[Special:Diff/1254723819|has been deleted]].|diff_id=1254723819}} by the [[Globalization and World Cities Research Network]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GaWC – The World According to GaWC 2020 |url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/geography/gawc/world2020t.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214203710/https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/geography/gawc/world2020t.html |archive-date=2024-02-14 |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=GaWC, Loughborough University}}</ref> Leeds is considered the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the [[West Yorkshire Urban Area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds Tourism |url=http://www.planetware.com/england/leeds-eng-wy-lee.htm |access-date=1 February 2009 |publisher=Planet Ware Travel Guide}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds stakes it claim to financial hub |url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/businessnews/Leeds-stakes-its-claim-to.1864465.jp |access-date=1 February 2009 |publisher=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk}}</ref>

Leeds is also served by five universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and the country's [[List of UK cities by GVA|fourth largest urban economy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds City Region and the Northern Powerhouse |url=https://www.wybusiness-skills.com/why-leeds-city-region/northern-powerhouse/ |website=West Yorkshire Combined Authority}}</ref> The student population has stimulated growth of the nightlife in the city and there are ample facilities for sporting and cultural activities, including classical and popular music festivals, and a varied collection of museums.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arts and Culture in Leeds |url=https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/arts-and-culture/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Visit Leeds }}</ref>

Leeds has multiple [[motorway]] links such as the [[M1 motorway|M1]], [[M62 motorway|M62]] and [[A1(M) motorway|A1(M)]]. The {{rws|Leeds||city's railway station}} is, alongside [[Manchester Piccadilly]], the busiest of its kind in [[Northern England]].<ref>{{cite web |date=22 December 2020 |title=Which are the busiest and least used railway stations in the UK? |url=https://railuk.com/railway-stations/busiest-and-least-used-railway-stations-in-the-uk/ |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=Rail UK }}</ref> Public transport, rail and road networks in the city and wider region are widespread.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds |url=https://empire.property/areas/leeds |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Empire Property Holdings }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Improving Transport |url=https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/improving-transport/ |website=West Yorkshire Combined Authority}}</ref> It is the county's largest settlement, with a population of 536,280,<ref name="2021census" /> while the larger City of Leeds district has a population of 812,000 ([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/yorkshireandthehumber/west_yorkshire/E35001333__leeds/ |website=United Kingdom: Yorkshire and the Humber}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |title=How the population changed in Leeds: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E08000035/ |date=28 June 2022 |access-date=14 July 2022}}</ref> The city is part of the fourth-largest [[List of urban areas in the United Kingdom|built-up area]] by population in the United Kingdom, [[West Yorkshire Built-up Area]], with a 2011 census population of 1.7 million.<ref name="BUA">{{cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx |title=2011 Census – Built-up areas |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] |access-date=5 July 2013}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Leeds}}

===Toponymy===
The name derives from the old [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] ''*Lātēnses'' (via Late Brittonic ''Lādēses''), composed of the [[Proto-Celtic language|Celtic]] root ''*lāt-'' "violent, boiling" and the borrowed Latin plural derivational suffix ''-ēnses'', meaning "people of the fast-flowing river", in reference to the [[River Aire]] that flows through the city.<ref>Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone. On the name 'Leeds'. In: Antiquity. A quarterly review of archaeology vol. 20, 80 (1946) pp.&nbsp;209–210.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |last2=Hodges |first2=Flavia |last3=Mills |first3=A.&nbsp;D. |last4=Room |first4=Adrian |title=The Oxford Names Companion |year=2002 |location=Oxford |publisher=the University Press |isbn=0198605617 |page=1104}}</ref> This name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the [[Elmet|Brittonic kingdom of Elmet]], which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century.<ref name="Fletcher">{{cite book |last=Fletcher |first=J.&nbsp;S. |year=1919 |title=The Story of English Towns: Leeds |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |location=London |oclc=221589888 |url=https://archive.org/details/storyoftheenglis027638mbp |access-date=22 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501170854/http://www.archive.org/details/storyoftheenglis027638mbp |archive-date=1 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Bede]] states in the fourteenth chapter of his ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People|Ecclesiastical History]]'', in a discussion of an altar surviving from a church erected by [[Edwin of Northumbria]], that it is located in ''...regione quae vocatur Loidis'' (Latin, "the region which is called Loidis"). An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a ''[[Loiner]]'', a word of uncertain origin.<ref name=loiner>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2005/01/06/voices2005_loiner_feature.shtml |title=Loiners of the world unite! |publisher=BBC |date=22 August 2005 |access-date=27 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100519152913/http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2005/01/06/voices2005_loiner_feature.shtml |archive-date=19 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The term ''Leodensian'' is also used, from the city's Latin name.

===Economic development===
[[File:The Mint, Granary Wharf, Leeds (5385775582).jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] at [[Granary Wharf]]]]
[[File:Inside the Corn Exchange 2 - Leeds.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Leeds Corn Exchange]] opened in 1864.]]
Leeds developed as a [[market town]] in the [[Middle Ages]] as part of the local agricultural economy.

Before the [[Industrial Revolution]], it became a co-ordination centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth, and white [[broadcloth]] was traded at its [[1st White Cloth Hall|White Cloth Hall]].<ref name=cloth>{{cite journal |title=Houses as Museums: The Case of the Yorkshire Wool Textile Industry |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |first=S.&nbsp;A. |last=Caunce |pages=329–343 |year=2003 |volume=13 |publisher=Royal Historical Society |doi=10.1017/S0080440103000197 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |s2cid=111082735 |issn=0080-4401}}</ref> Leeds handled one sixth of England's export trade in 1770.<ref>{{Harvnb|Burt|Grady|1994|p=57}}</ref> Growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the creation of the [[Aire and Calder Navigation]] in 1699 (with major additional works in the 18th century) and the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] in 1816.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=143}}</ref> In the late [[Georgian period|Georgian]] era, [[Lupton family|William Lupton]] was one of a number of central Leeds landowners, some of whom, like him, were also textile manufacturers. At the time of his death in 1828, Lupton occupied the [[enclosure|enclosed]] fields of the [[Lord of the manor|manor of Leeds]], his estate including a mill, [[reservoir]], substantial house and outbuildings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=J. |title=Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780–1914 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZ-RAgAAQBAJ&q=manor+++of+Leeds++william++Lupton&pg=PA172 |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |access-date=26 February 2017 |page=172 |quote=In the 1830s, William Lupton left his widow with land..... in Merrion and Belgrave streets (Briggate)...the enclosed fields of the manor of Leeds were already occupied by a woolen mill and its reservoir and the house and outbuildings of William Lupton – a gentleman merchant |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226111107/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KZ-RAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA172&dq=manor+++of+Leeds++william++Lupton&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjOnZDX-9fgAhWOXSsKHe-6CDYQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=manor%20%20%20of%20Leeds%20%20william%20%20Lupton&f=false |archive-date=26 February 2019 |url-status=live |isbn=9781135836450}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Reports of All the Cases Decided by All the Superior Courts Relating to Magistrates, Municipal, and Parochial Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nMDAAAAQAAJ&q=lords+of+the+manor+of+leeds&pg=PA407 |publisher=Law Times Office |year=1873 |access-date=26 February 2017 |page=407 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226050043/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=5nMDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA407&dq=lords+of+the+manor+of+leeds&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisvtuA-dfgAhWGT7wKHTEbCb4Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=lords%20of%20the%20manor%20of%20leeds&f=false |archive-date=26 February 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mechanical engineering, initially to supply tools and machinery for the textile sector, rapidly became a diverse industry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cookson |first=Gillian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1020615091 |title=AGE OF MACHINERY : engineering the industrial revolution, 1770–1850. |year=2018 |publisher=BOYDELL Press |isbn=978-1-78744-238-2 |location=Woodbridge |oclc=1020615091}}</ref>

The railway network constructed around Leeds, starting with the [[Leeds and Selby Railway]] in 1834, provided improved communications with national markets and, significantly for its development, an east–west connection with [[Manchester]] and the ports of [[Liverpool]] and [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] giving improved access to international markets.<ref name=transport_geo>{{cite journal |title=Britain's national railway network: fit for purpose in the 21st century? |first=Russ |last=Haywood |volume=15 |issue=3 |year=2007 |pages=198–216 |journal=Journal of Transport Geography |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2006.02.015|bibcode=2007JTGeo..15..198H }}</ref> Alongside technological advances and industrial expansion, Leeds retained an interest in trading in agricultural commodities, with the [[Leeds Corn Exchange|Corn Exchange]] opening in 1864.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1255771|desc=Corn Exchange |accessdate=18 April 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Joseph Rhodes - Leeds from the Meadows.jpg|thumb|''Leeds from the Meadows'' by Joseph Rhodes, 1825]]

[[Marshall's Mill]] was one of the first of many factories constructed in Leeds from around 1790 when the most significant were woollen finishing and flax mills.<ref name="Fraser 1982 1442">{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=144}}</ref> Manufacturing diversified by 1914 to printing, engineering, chemicals and clothing manufacture.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=155}}</ref> Decline in manufacturing during the 1930s was temporarily reversed by a switch to producing military uniforms and munitions during the Second World War. However, by the 1970s, the clothing industry was in irreversible decline, facing cheap foreign competition.<ref name=suit_leeds>{{cite book |title=Well suited: a history of the Leeds clothing industry, 1850–1990 |first=Katrina |last=Honeyman |author-link=Katrina Honeyman |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-920237-0}}</ref> The contemporary economy has been shaped by [[Leeds City Council]]'s vision of building a '24-hour European city' and 'capital of the north'.<ref name=imagine>{{cite journal |title=Re-imaging a post-industrial city |first=Tony |last=Harcup |year=2000 |journal=[[City (journal)|City]] |volume=4 |publisher=Carfax |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/13604810050147839 |s2cid=143928899}}</ref> The city has developed from the decay of the post-industrial era to become a telephone banking centre, connected to the electronic infrastructure of the modern global economy.<ref name=imagine/> There has been growth in the corporate and legal sectors,<ref name=legal>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/77eaffe6-ef2a-11dc-8a17-0000779fd2ac.html |title=Legal services: Law firms have solid local roots and global ambitions |work=Financial Times |date=11 March 2008 |access-date=26 September 2009}}</ref> and increased local affluence has led to an expanding retail sector, including the [[luxury goods]] market.<ref name=retail>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/retail |title=Sectors: Retail |work=Leeds, Live it, Love it |publisher=Marketing Leeds |access-date=26 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104165034/http://leedsliveitloveit.com/retail |archive-date=4 January 2010}}</ref>

[[Leeds City Region|Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone]] was launched in April 2012 to promote development in four sites along the [[A63 road|A63]] East Leeds Link Road.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/90850-/ |title=Work begins on Logic Leeds business park |publisher=Insider Media |date=23 May 2013 |access-date=12 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122130/http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/90850-/ |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Local government===
{{Main|History of local government in Yorkshire}}
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; text-align:center; margin-left:10px; margin-right:10px; margin-top:0;"
|+Leeds (parish) population
|-
!1881
|160,109
|-
!1891
|177,523
|-
!1901
|177,920
|-
!1911
|259,394
|-
!1921
|269,665
|-
!1931
|482,809
|-
!1941
|<small>No census<br>due to war</small>
|-
!1951
|505,219
|-
!1961
|510,676
|-
|colspan="2" style="font-size:smaller;"|Source: [[Census in the United Kingdom|UK census]]<ref name=population_parish>{{cite vob |name=Leeds parish |population=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10443337&c_id=10001043&add=N |accessdate=25 September 2009}}</ref>
|}
Leeds was a manor and township in the large ancient parish of ''Leeds St Peter'', in the [[Skyrack]] [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]] of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding]] of [[Yorkshire]].<ref name=vision_parish>{{cite web |title=Relationships / unit history of Leeds |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id%3D10443337 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814071837/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10443337 |archive-date=14 August 2011 |access-date=2 February 2017}}</ref> The Borough of Leeds was created in 1207, when Maurice Paynel, lord of the manor, granted a charter to a small area of the manor, close to the river crossing, in what is now the city centre. King [[James VI and I|James I]] granted the borough to his wife, [[Anne of Denmark]], and in 1612, she ordered a survey of the borough; in 1615 she was petitioned to remove the strict [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] preacher Alexander Cooke as vicar of Leeds, but she refused.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thornton |first=David |title=Leeds: A Biographical Dictionary |publisher=Beecroft Publications |year=2021 |pages=6}}</ref>

The inhabitants petitioned [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] for a charter of incorporation, which was granted in 1626. The new charter incorporated the entire parish, including all eleven townships, as the [[County Borough of Leeds|Borough of Leeds]] and withdrew the earlier charter. [[Improvement commissioners]] were set up in 1755 for paving, lighting, and cleansing of the main streets, including [[Briggate, Leeds|Briggate]] and further powers were added in 1790 to improve the water supply.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=2003218_676159084&topic=2003218_372249783&subsection=200342_125637234 |title=Briggate: Improvement Acts |publisher=Leeds City Council |work=Discovering Leeds |access-date=27 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128161204/http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=2003218_676159084&topic=2003218_372249783&subsection=200342_125637234 |archive-date=28 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The borough corporation was reformed under the provisions of [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]]. [[Leeds City Police|Leeds Borough Police]] force was formed in 1836, and [[Leeds Town Hall]] was completed by the corporation in 1858. In 1866, Leeds and each of the other townships in the borough became [[civil parish]]es. The borough became a [[county borough]] in 1889, giving it independence from the newly formed West Riding County Council and it gained [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 1893.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beckett |first1=John |title=City Status in the British Isles. |date=2017 |orig-date=2005 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=London |isbn=9781351951265 |page=57}}</ref> In 1904 the Leeds parish absorbed [[Beeston, Leeds|Beeston]], [[Chapel Allerton]], [[Farnley, West Yorkshire|Farnley]], [[Headingley cum Burley]] and [[Potternewton]] from within the borough. In the twentieth century the county borough initiated a series of significant territorial expansions, growing from {{convert|21593|acres|km2}} in 1911 to {{convert|40612|acres|km2}} in 1961.<ref name=vision_cb>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id%3D10108809%26c_id%3D10001043 |title=Leeds MB/CB |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213031954/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10108809&c_id=10001043 |archive-date=13 February 2012 |access-date=2 February 2017}}</ref> In 1912 the parish and county borough of Leeds absorbed [[Leeds Rural District]], consisting of the parishes of [[Roundhay]] and [[Seacroft]]; and [[Shadwell, West Yorkshire|Shadwell]], which had been part of Wetherby Rural District. On 1 April 1925, the parish of Leeds was expanded to cover the whole borough.<ref name=vision_parish/>

The county borough was abolished on 1 April 1974, and its former area was combined with that of the municipal boroughs of [[Municipal Borough of Morley|Morley]] and [[Municipal Borough of Pudsey|Pudsey]]; the urban districts of [[Aireborough]], [[Horsforth]], [[Otley]], [[Garforth]] and [[Rothwell, West Yorkshire|Rothwell]]; and parts of the rural districts of [[Tadcaster Rural District|Tadcaster]], [[Wetherby Rural District|Wetherby]], and [[Wharfedale Rural District|Wharfedale]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=459}}</ref> This area formed a metropolitan district in the county of [[West Yorkshire]]. It gained both borough and city status and is known as the [[City of Leeds]]. Initially, local government services were provided by [[Leeds City Council]] and [[West Yorkshire County Council]]. When the county council was abolished in 1986, the city council absorbed its functions, and some powers passed to organisations such as the [[West Yorkshire Metro|West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority]]. From 1988 two run-down and derelict areas close to the [[Leeds city centre|city centre]] were designated for regeneration and became the responsibility of [[Leeds Development Corporation]], outside the planning remit of the city council.<ref name=leeds_dc>{{cite web |url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/general-content/citiesandregions/impacturban/ |title=Impact of Urban Development Corporations in Leeds, Bristol & Central Manchester |date=18 November 1998 |publisher=[[Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions]] |access-date=25 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211110418/http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/general-content/citiesandregions/impacturban/ |archive-date=11 December 2008}}</ref> Planning powers were restored to the local authority in 1995 when the development corporation was wound up.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/966/contents/made|title=The Leeds Development Corporation (Dissolution) Order 1995|website=www.legislation.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref>

===Suburban growth===
[[File:Leeds 1866 by J Bartholemew edited.jpg|thumb|alt=This map shows central Leeds and (clockwise from top left) the developing suburbs of Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Sheepscar, New Leeds, Cross Green, Hunslet, Holbeck, Wortley, Armley and Burley.|1866 map of Leeds]]
[[File:James Valentine The Briggate Leeds.jpg|thumb|19th-century [[Briggate|Briggate, Leeds]]]]

In 1801, 42% of the population of Leeds lived outside the township, in the wider borough. [[Cholera]] outbreaks in 1832 and 1849 caused the authorities to address the problems of drainage, sanitation, and water supply. Water was pumped from the River Wharfe, but by 1860 it was too heavily polluted to be usable. Following the [[Leeds Waterworks Act 1867]] ([[30 & 31 Vict.]] c. cxli) three reservoirs were built at Lindley Wood, Swinsty, and Fewston in the Washburn Valley north of Leeds.<ref>{{Harvnb|Burt|Grady|1994|p=163}}</ref>

Residential growth occurred in Holbeck and Hunslet from 1801 to 1851, but, as these townships became industrialised new areas were favoured for middle class housing.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=96}}</ref> Land south of the river was developed primarily for industry and secondarily for [[Back-to-back house|back-to-back]] workers' dwellings. The [[Leeds Improvement Act 1866]] ([[29 & 30 Vict.]] c. clvii) sought to improve the quality of working class housing by restricting the number of homes that could be built in a single terrace.<ref name=discover_house>{{cite web |url=http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=2003218_676159084&topic=2003218_372249783&subsection=200342_125637234 |publisher=Leeds City Council |work=Discovering Leeds |title=The Working Classes: Housing |access-date=26 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128161204/http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=2003218_676159084&topic=2003218_372249783&subsection=200342_125637234 |archive-date=28 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Holbeck and Leeds formed a continuous built-up area by 1858, with Hunslet nearly meeting them.<ref name="Fraser 1982 98">{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=98}}</ref> In the latter half of the nineteenth century, population growth in Hunslet, Armley, and Wortley outstripped that of Leeds. When pollution became a problem, the wealthier residents left the industrial conurbation to live in Headingley, Potternewton and Chapel Allerton which led to a 50% increase in the population of Headingley and Burley from 1851 to 1861. The middle-class flight from the industrial areas led to development beyond the borough at Roundhay and Adel.<ref name="Fraser 1982 98"/> The introduction of the [[Leeds Tramway|electric tramway]] led to intensification of development in Headingley and Potternewton and expansion outside the borough into Roundhay.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=57}}</ref>

Two private gas supply companies were taken over by the corporation in 1870, and the municipal supply provided street lighting and cheaper gas to homes. From the early 1880s, the Yorkshire House-to-House Electricity Company supplied electricity to Leeds until it was purchased by Leeds Corporation and became a municipal supply.<ref>{{Harvnb|Burt|Grady|1994|p=193}}</ref>

[[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|Slum clearance]] and rebuilding began in Leeds during the [[interwar period]] when over 18,000 houses were built by the council on 24 estates in [[Cross Gates]], Middleton, Gipton, Belle Isle and Halton Moor. The slums of [[Quarry Hill, Leeds|Quarry Hill]] were replaced by the innovative Quarry Hill flats, which were demolished in 1975. Another 36,000 houses were built by private sector builders, creating suburbs in Gledhow, Moortown, Alwoodley, Roundhay, Colton, Whitkirk, [[Oakwood, Leeds|Oakwood]], Weetwood, and Adel. After 1949 a further 30,000 sub-standard houses were demolished by the council and replaced by 151 medium-rise and high-rise blocks of council flats in estates at Seacroft, Armley Heights, Tinshill, and Brackenwood.<ref>{{Harvnb|Unsworth and Stillwell|2004|p=77}}</ref> Leeds has seen great expenditure on regenerating the city, attracting in investments and flagship projects,<ref name="leeds_skyscraper">{{cite web |url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=565 |website=www.skyscrapernews.com |title=Light Shines on Leeds Skyscraper Bids |access-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211133304/http://skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=565 |archive-date=11 February 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> as found in [[Leeds city centre]]. Many developments boasting luxurious penthouse apartments have been built close to the city centre.

==Geography==
At {{coord|53|47|59|N|1|32|57|W|type:city}} (53.799°, −1.549°), and {{convert|190|mi|km}} north-northwest of [[central London]], central Leeds is located on the [[River Aire]] in a narrow section of the Aire Valley in the eastern foothills of the [[Pennines]]. The city centre lies at about {{convert|206|ft|m|0}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] while the district ranges from {{convert|1115|ft|m|0}} in the far west on the slopes of [[Ilkley Moor]] to about {{convert|33|ft|m|0}} where the rivers Aire and Wharfe cross the eastern boundary. The centre of Leeds is part of a continuously built-up area extending to Pudsey, Bramley, Horsforth, Alwoodley, Seacroft, Middleton and Morley.<ref name="UAmap2">{{cite web |author=Office for National Statistics |authorlink=Office for National Statistics |year=2001 |title=Census 2001:Key Statistics for urban areas in the North; Map 6 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_north_part_8.pdf |accessdate=27 September 2009 |work=[[United Kingdom Census 2001]] |publisher=statistics.gov.uk |archive-date=24 July 2004 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20040724075012/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_north_part_8.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:HorsforthPark01.jpg|thumb|Leeds is home to many large urban parks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Parks and Green Spaces Strategy 2022 to 2032 |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/plans-and-strategies/parks-and-green-spaces-strategy |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=www.leeds.gov.uk }}</ref>]]
Leeds has the second [[List of English districts by population|highest population]] of any local authority district in the UK (after [[Birmingham]]), and the second [[List of English districts by area|greatest area]] of any English [[Metropolitan borough|metropolitan district]] (after [[Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster|Doncaster]]), extending {{convert|15|mi|0|abbr=out}} from east to west, and {{convert|13|mi|0|abbr=out}} from north to south. The northern boundary follows the [[River Wharfe]] for several miles but crosses the river to include the part of Otley which lies north of the river. Over 65% of the Leeds district is [[Green belt (UK)|green belt]] land and the city centre is less than twenty miles ({{convert|20|mi|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) from the [[Yorkshire Dales|Yorkshire Dales National Park]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds – the facts |url=http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/our-wonderful-region/our-cities/Leeds-the-facts |accessdate=22 January 2009 |publisher=Yorkshire Forward Government agency}}</ref> which has some of the most spectacular scenery and countryside in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds – The Yorkshire Dales |url=http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/destinations/England/englands-north-country/Yorkshire-Dales.aspx |accessdate=22 January 2009 |publisher=Visit Britain (National UK Tourist Agency)}}</ref> Inner and southern areas of Leeds lie on a layer of coal measure sandstones. To the north parts are built on older sandstone and gritstones and to the east it extends into the magnesian limestone belt.<ref name="Fraser 1982 1442"/><ref name="Kendall & Wroot2">{{cite book |last1=Kendall |first1=Percy Fry |title=Geology of Yorkshire Part II |publisher=EP Publishing Ltd |year=1972 |isbn=0-85409-762-7 |location=East Ardsley, Wakefield |pages=672–673 |last2=Wroot |first2=Herbert}}</ref> The [[land use]] in the central areas of Leeds is overwhelmingly urban.<ref name="UAmap3">{{cite web |author=Office for National Statistics |authorlink=Office for National Statistics |year=2001 |title=Census 2001:Key Statistics for urban areas in the North; Map 6 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_north_part_8.pdf |accessdate=27 September 2009 |work=[[United Kingdom Census 2001]] |publisher=statistics.gov.uk |archive-date=24 July 2004 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20040724075012/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_north_part_8.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Attempts to define the exact geographic meaning of Leeds lead to a variety of concepts of its extent, varying by context include the area of the [[Leeds city centre|city centre]], the urban sprawl, the administrative boundaries, and the [[functional region]].<ref name="Fraser 1982 4562">{{Harvnb|Fraser|1982|p=456}}</ref>{{blockquote|Leeds is much more a generalised concept place name in inverted commas, it is the city, but it is also the commuter villages and the region as well. |author=Brian Thompson|title=A History of Modern Leeds<ref name="Fraser 1982 4562"/>}}
Leeds has a varying extent by context such as the [[Leeds city centre|city centre]], the built-up sprawl around the centre, administrative boundaries and the [[travel to work area]].<ref name="Fraser 1982 4562"/> The city centre lies in a narrow section of the Aire Valley at about {{convert|206|ft|0}} [[Metres above sea level|above sea level]]. The [[land use]] in the central areas of Leeds is overwhelmingly urban.<ref name="UAmap" /> while being less than {{convert|20|mi|km|spell=in}} from the rural [[Yorkshire Dales|Yorkshire Dales National Park]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/our-wonderful-region/our-cities/Leeds-the-facts |title=Leeds – the facts |publisher=Yorkshire Forward Government agency |access-date=22 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216213826/http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/our-wonderful-region/our-cities/Leeds-the-facts |archive-date=16 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/destinations/England/englands-north-country/Yorkshire-Dales.aspx |title=Leeds – The Yorkshire Dales |publisher=Visit Britain (National UK Tourist Agency) |access-date=22 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205043534/http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/destinations/England/englands-north-country/Yorkshire-Dales.aspx |archive-date=5 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It is contained within the [[Leeds Inner Ring Road]], formed from parts of the [[A58 road]], [[A61 road]], [[A64 road]], [[A643 road]] and the [[M621 motorway]]. [[Briggate, Leeds|Briggate]], the principal north–south shopping street, is pedestrianised and Queen Victoria Street, a part of the [[Victoria Quarter]], is enclosed under a glass roof. [[Millennium Square (Leeds)|Millennium Square]] is a significant urban focal point.[[File:River Aire waterfront, Leeds 001.jpg|thumb|alt=The canalised River Aire flows from the Dark Arches under Leeds's main railway station towards the bottom of the picture. To the left of the river is the lock which links the river with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. To the right is a riverside walk beneath modern buildings, and in the distance, beyond the railway viaduct and station, are more high-rise modern buildings located on the west side of the city centre.|[[River Aire]] ]]
Inner and southern areas of Leeds lie on a layer of coal measure sandstones forming the [[South Yorkshire Coalfield|Yorkshire Coalfield]]. To the north parts are built on older sandstone and gritstones and to the east it extends into the magnesian limestone belt.<ref name="Fraser 1982 1442"/><ref name="Kendall & Wroot">{{cite book |last1=Kendall |first1=Percy Fry |last2=Wroot |first2=Herbert |title=Geology of Yorkshire Part II |publisher=EP Publishing Ltd |location=East Ardsley, Wakefield |year=1972 |pages=672–673 |isbn=0-85409-762-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nmrs.org.uk/mines/coal/yorkshire/index.html |access-date=5 April 2016 |title=Yorkshire Coalfield |publisher=Northern Mine Research Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331031137/http://nmrs.org.uk/mines/coal/yorkshire/index.html |archive-date=31 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Outside Leeds centre, there are a [[List of places in Leeds|number of suburbs and exurbs]] within the district. Some of Leeds suburbs include Headingley, Harehills and Hunslet. while exurbs of Leeds include Pudsey, Horsforth and Morley.<ref name="UAmap">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_north_part_8.pdf |title=Census 2001:Key Statistics for urban areas in the North; Map 6 |author-link=Office for National Statistics |publisher=statistics.gov.uk |access-date=27 September 2009 |year=2001 |author=Office for National Statistics |work=[[United Kingdom Census 2001]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109141704/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_north_part_8.pdf |archive-date=9 January 2007}}</ref>

Lying in the eastern foothills of the [[Pennines]], there is a significant variation in elevation within the city's built-up area. The district ranges from {{convert|1115|ft|0}} in the far west on the slopes of [[Ilkley Moor]] to about {{convert|33|ft|0}} where the rivers Aire and Wharfe cross the eastern boundary. Land rises to {{convert|198|m|ft|abbr=on}} in Cookridge, just {{convert|6|mi|km}} from the city centre. The northern boundary follows the [[River Wharfe]] for several miles (several kilometres), but it crosses the river to include the part of Otley which lies north of the river. The [[LS postcode area|Leeds postcode area]] covers most of the City of Leeds district<ref name="postal_council">{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/maps/leeds_pc.html |access-date=26 September 2009 |title=Leeds Metropolitan District – Post Codes |publisher=Leeds City Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212080431/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/maps/leeds_pc.html |archive-date=12 December 2009}}</ref> and is almost entirely made up of the Leeds [[post town]].<ref name="mail_guide">{{cite book |publisher=Royal Mail Group |year=2004 |title=Address Management Guide }}</ref> Otley, Wetherby, Tadcaster, Pudsey and Ilkley are separate post towns within the postcode area.<ref name="mail_guide" />

===Green belt===
{{further|South and West Yorkshire Green Belt}}

Leeds is within a [[Green belt (United Kingdom)|green belt]] region that extends into the wider surrounding counties and is in place to reduce [[urban sprawl]], prevent the settlements in the West Yorkshire conurbation from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage [[Brownfield land|brownfield]] reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas, and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building.<ref name="belt1">{{cite web |title=Unitary Development Plan |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/your-council/planning/unitary-development-plan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322143636/https://www.leeds.gov.uk/your-council/planning/unitary-development-plan |archive-date=22 March 2018 |access-date=26 March 2018 |website=www.leeds.gov.uk}}</ref>

Over 60% of the Leeds district is green belt land and it surrounds the settlement, preventing further sprawl towards nearby communities. Larger outlying towns and villages are exempt from the green belt area. However, smaller villages, hamlets and rural areas are 'washed over' by the designation. The green belt was first adopted in 1960,<ref name="belt1" /> and the size in the borough in 2017 amounted to some {{convert|33,970|ha|km2+sqmi}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Green belt statistics – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-belt-statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133634/https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-belt-statistics |archive-date=3 July 2018 |access-date=26 March 2018 |website=www.gov.uk}}</ref> A subsidiary aim of the green belt is to encourage recreation and leisure interests,<ref name="belt1" /> with rural landscape features, greenfield areas and facilities including Temple Newsam Park and House with golf course, Rothwell Country Park, Middleton Park, Kirkstall Abbey ruins and surrounding park, Bedquilts recreation grounds, Waterloo lake, Roundhay castle and park, and Morwick, Cobble and Elmete Halls.

===Climate===
[[File:Park Square and Leeds Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 183544.jpg|thumb|Sunny early-June 2006 day at [[Park Square, Leeds|Park Square]]]]
Leeds has a climate that is [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfb''), and influenced by the Pennines. Summers are usually mild, with moderate rainfall, while winters are chilly, cloudy with occasional snow and frost. The nearest official weather recording station is at Bingley, some {{convert|20|km|spell=in|order=flip}} away at a higher altitude.<ref>[https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcwfhf1w0 Met Office Bingley temperatures] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113011153/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcwfhf1w0 |date=13 November 2017}} Retrieved 3 March 2018</ref>

July is the warmest month, with a mean temperature of {{convert|16|°C|0|abbr=on}}, while the coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of {{convert|3|°C|0|abbr=on}}. Temperatures above {{convert|30|°C|0|abbr=on}} and below {{convert|-10|°C|0|abbr=on}} are not very common but can happen occasionally. Temperatures at Leeds Bradford Airport fell to {{convert|-12.6|°C|1|abbr=on}} in December 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2010/12/03/huddersfield-temperature-verified-at-11-in-waterloo-last-night-plus-forecast-for-the-weekend-86081-27762073/ |title=Huddersfield temperature verified at −11 in Waterloo last night – plus forecast for the weekend – Local West Yorkshire News – News – Huddersfield Examiner |date=3 December 2010 |publisher=Examiner.co.uk |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106201813/http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2010/12/03/huddersfield-temperature-verified-at-11-in-waterloo-last-night-plus-forecast-for-the-weekend-86081-27762073/ |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> and reached {{convert|31.8|°C|0|abbr=on}} at Leeds city centre in August 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/LEEDS_WEATHER_CTR/08-2003/33470.htm |title=CLIMATE LEEDS WEATHER CTR – Historical August 2003 – Weather |publisher=Tutiempo.net |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106201741/http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/LEEDS_WEATHER_CTR/08-2003/33470.htm |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The record temperature for Leeds  is {{convert|39.8|°C|0|abbr=on}} recorded on 19th July 2022 at Bramham 10 miles east of Leeds City Centre, it’s likely the temperature within Leeds City Centre exceeded this but the Leeds weather centre closed in 2000.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

As is typical for many sprawling cities in areas of varying topography, temperatures can change depending on location. Average July and August daytime highs exceed {{convert|22|C|F}} (a value comparable to South East England) in a small area just to the south east of the city centre,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/MaxTemp_Average_1981-2010_7.gif |title=July Temperature Map |access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/MaxTemp_Average_1981-2010_8.gif |title=August Temperature Map |access-date=14 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106201918/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/8110_1km/MaxTemp_Average_1981-2010_8.gif |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> where the elevation declines to under {{convert|20|m|abbr=off}}. This is {{convert|2|C-change}} milder than the typical summer temperature at Leeds Bradford airport weather station (shown in the chart below), at an elevation of {{convert|208|m|abbr=off}}. Situated on the eastern side of the Pennines, Leeds is among the driest cities in the United Kingdom, with an annual rainfall of {{convert|660|mm|2|abbr=on}}. Though extreme weather in Leeds is relatively rare, thunderstorms, blizzards, gale-force winds and even tornadoes have struck the city. The last reported tornado occurred on 14 September 2006, causing trees to uproot and signal failures at [[Leeds railway station|Leeds City railway station]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/5347064.stm |title=UK &#124; England &#124; West Yorkshire &#124; Tornado hits during freak storm |work=BBC News |date=14 September 2006 |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826051730/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/5347064.stm |archive-date=26 August 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Weather box
| location = Leeds Bradford, extremes 1985–2003
| metric first = Yes
| single line = Yes
| Jan record high C = 14.3
| Feb record high C = 17.5
| Mar record high C = 21.2
| Apr record high C = 26.1
| May record high C = 28.5
| Jun record high C = 31.7
| Jul record high C = 39.8
| Aug record high C = 34.4
| Sep record high C = 28.2
| Oct record high C = 24.5
| Nov record high C = 17.3
| Dec record high C = 15.3
| Jan high C = 5.8
| Feb high C = 5.9
| Mar high C = 8.7
| Apr high C = 11.3
| May high C = 15
| Jun high C = 18.2
| Jul high C = 19.9
| Aug high C = 19.9
| Sep high C = 17.3
| Oct high C = 13.4
| Nov high C = 8.8
| Dec high C = 6.7
| Jan mean C = 3.1
| Feb mean C = 3.1
| Mar mean C = 5.2
| Apr mean C = 7.2
| May mean C = 10.3
| Jun mean C = 13.4
| Jul mean C = 15.2
| Aug mean C = 15.2
| Sep mean C = 13.0
| Oct mean C = 9.9
| Nov mean C = 5.9
| Dec mean C = 4.0
| Jan low C = 0.3
| Feb low C = 0.2
| Mar low C = 1.6
| Apr low C = 3.1
| May low C = 5.5
| Jun low C = 8.5
| Jul low C = 10.4
| Aug low C = 10.5
| Sep low C = 8.7
| Oct low C = 6.3
| Nov low C = 2.9
| Dec low C = 1.2
| Jan record low C = -7.9
| Feb record low C = -8.5
| Mar record low C = -6.5
| Apr record low C = -2.1
| May record low C = 0.3
| Jun record low C = 2.5
| Jul record low C = 6.4
| Aug record low C = 5.5
| Sep record low C = 2.1
| Oct record low C = -3.5
| Nov record low C = -5.5
| Dec record low C = -7.9
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 61
| Feb precipitation mm = 45
| Mar precipitation mm = 52
| Apr precipitation mm = 48
| May precipitation mm = 54
| Jun precipitation mm = 54
| Jul precipitation mm = 51
| Aug precipitation mm = 65
| Sep precipitation mm = 57
| Oct precipitation mm = 55
| Nov precipitation mm = 57
| Dec precipitation mm = 61
| Jan precipitation days = 17.5
| Feb precipitation days = 14.2
| Mar precipitation days = 14.8
| Apr precipitation days = 13.5
| May precipitation days = 13.7
| Jun precipitation days = 12.2
| Jul precipitation days = 11.7
| Aug precipitation days = 13.2
| Sep precipitation days = 12.9
| Oct precipitation days = 15.1
| Nov precipitation days = 16.5
| Dec precipitation days = 17.0
| source = <ref name= wtclimate>{{cite web |url=http://wunderground.com |title=Leeds average weather data. |access-date=14 November 2010 |website=worldweather.wmo.int |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121003056/http://www.wunderground.com/ |archive-date=21 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=www.world-climates.com |title=Average weather statistics for Leeds |access-date=26 May 2011 |url=http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-leeds-west-yorkshire-uk-europe/ |date=February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107160024/http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-leeds-west-yorkshire-uk-europe/ |archive-date=7 November 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/LEEDS_WEATHER_CTR/33470.htm |title=Climate Leeds Weather Ctr: Climate data 1986 – 2003 |publisher=Tutiempo.net |access-date=28 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014165918/http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/LEEDS_WEATHER_CTR/33470.htm |archive-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

== Demography ==
{{Main|Demographics of Leeds}}
Leeds forms the main area of the [[City of Leeds]] metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire. This district includes Leeds itself as well as surrounding towns of [[Horsforth]], [[Morley, West Yorkshire|Morley]], [[Otley]], [[Pudsey]], [[Rothwell, West Yorkshire|Rothwell]] and [[Wetherby]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/leeds |title=Definition of 'Leeds' |publisher=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |access-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215123125/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/leeds |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.planetware.com/england/leeds-eng-wy-lee.htm |title=Leeds Tourism |publisher=Planet Ware Travel Guide |access-date=1 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505030237/http://www.planetware.com/england/leeds-eng-wy-lee.htm |archive-date=5 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/businessnews/Leeds-stakes-its-claim-to.1864465.jp |title=Leeds stakes it claim to financial hub |work=The Yorkshire Post |access-date=1 February 2009 |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517174847/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/businessnews/leeds-stakes-its-claim-to.1864465.jp |url-status=dead}}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.bookinghome.com/en/United_Kingdom/England/Leeds-Hotels.html |title=About Leeds |publisher=www.bookinghime.com |access-date=1 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509134854/http://www.bookinghome.com/en/United_Kingdom/England/Leeds-Hotels.html |archive-date=9 May 2008}}</ref> Leeds is the central city of the [[Leeds City Region]], a classification for the city region's [[metropolitan area]]. The city region has a population of over 3 million, making it the second most populated metropolitan city region in the United Kingdom, behind [[Greater London]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Regional economic activity by gross value added (balanced), UK: 1998 to 2017 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossvalueaddedgva/bulletins/regionalgrossvalueaddedbalanceduk/1998to2017 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref>

In January 2011, Leeds was named as one of five "cities to watch" in a report published by Centre for Cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centreforcities.org/cities-outlook-2011-annual-index-reveals-uk-cities-best-placed-to-create-jobs-and-drive-economic-recovery.html |title=Cities Outlook 2011: Annual index reveals UK cities best placed to create jobs and drive economic recovery |publisher=Centre for Cities |date=24 January 2011 |access-date=5 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725152252/http://www.centreforcities.org/cities-outlook-2011-annual-index-reveals-uk-cities-best-placed-to-create-jobs-and-drive-economic-recovery.html |archive-date=25 July 2011}}</ref> The report shows that the average resident in Leeds earns £471 per week,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/Cities%20Outlook%202011/11-01-31%20Earnings%20Cities%20Outlook%202011.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=15 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428035956/http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/Cities%20Outlook%202011/11-01-31%20Earnings%20Cities%20Outlook%202011.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2011}}</ref> 17th nationally and 30.9% of Leeds residents had NVQ4+ high-level qualifications,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/Cities%20Outlook%202011/11-01-31%20High%20level%20quals%20Cities%20Outlook%202011.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=15 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428072656/http://www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/Cities%20Outlook%202011/11-01-31%20High%20level%20quals%20Cities%20Outlook%202011.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2011}}</ref> 15th nationally. Employment in Leeds was 68.8% in the period June 2012 to June 2013, which was lower than the national average, whilst unemployment was higher than the national average at 9.6% over the same time period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157127/report.aspx?town=Leeds#tabempunemp |title=ONS data – employment & unemployment |publisher=Nomisweb.co.uk |access-date=15 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201200736/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157127/report.aspx?town=leeds#tabempunemp |archive-date=1 February 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Leeds is overall less deprived than other large UK cities and average income is above regional averages.<ref name="westyorkshireobservatory.org" />

===Urban subdivision===
{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:10px;"
|-
|+ Leeds compared
|-
|colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Leeds urban subdivision in West Yorkshire urban area.png|250px|center|alt=A map of West Yorkshire showing the Leeds urban subdivision of the West Yorkshire Urban Area (which is made up of five councils) coloured green and the rest of the Urban area coloured blue-grey|Leeds urban subdivision<br />shown within the West Yorkshire urban area]]Leeds urban subdivision within<br />the West Yorkshire urban area
|-

! [[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021<br />UK Census]] ||Leeds<br />USD ||[[City of Leeds|Leeds<br />district]] ||[[West Yorkshire Urban Area|West<br />Yorks UA]] ||England
|-
|Population||515,947||811,953||2,351,582||56,489,840
|-
|White||71.2%||79.0%||76.6%||81.0%
|-
|Asian||13.1%||9.7%||15.9%||9.6%
|-
|Black||8.3%||5.6%||3.1%||4.2%
|-
!colspan="5" |Source: Office for National Statistics<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/yorkshireandthehumber/west_yorkshire/E35001333__leeds |title=Leeds |website=City population |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/england/admin/yorkshire_and_the_humber/E08000035__leeds/ |title=Leeds |website=City population |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021/report?compare=E08000035 |title=Office for National Statistics – Leeds Local Authority – 2021 census profile |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/westyorkshire/ |title=West Yorkshire |website=City population |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/england/ |title=England |website=City population |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref>
|}
At the time of the [[United Kingdom Census 2001]], the Leeds urban subdivision occupied an area of {{convert|109|km2}} and had a population of&nbsp;443,247; making it the fourth-most populous urban subdivision within England and the fifth largest within the United Kingdom. The population density was {{convert|4066|PD/km2|PD/sqmi}}, slightly higher than the rest of the [[West Yorkshire Urban Area]]. It accounts for 20% of the area and 62% of the population of the City of Leeds. The population of the urban subdivision had a 100&nbsp;to&nbsp;93.1&nbsp;female–male ratio.<ref name=urban_pop>{{cite web |title=KS01 Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |publisher=Office for National Statistics |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&More=Y |date=7 February 2005 |access-date=24 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311050212/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&More=Y |archive-date=11 March 2005}}</ref> Of those over 16&nbsp;years old, 39.4% were single (never married) and 35.4% married for the first time.<ref name=marital_pop>{{cite web |title=KS04 Marital status: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |publisher=Office for National Statistics |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8276&More=Y |date=2 February 2005 |access-date=24 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729074316/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8276&More=Y |archive-date=29 July 2009}}</ref> The urban subdivision's 188,890&nbsp;households included 35% one-person, 27.9% married couples living together, 8.8% were co-habiting couples, and 5.7% single parents with their children. Leeds is the largest component of the West Yorkshire Urban Area<ref name=UAmap/> and is counted by [[Eurostat]] as part of the Leeds-Bradford [[larger urban zone]]. The Leeds [[travel to work area]] in 2001 included all of the City of Leeds, a northern strip of the City of Bradford, the eastern part of Kirklees, and a section of southern North Yorkshire; it occupies {{convert|751|km2}}.
{{Historical populations|state=collapsed
|1801|94421
|1811|108459
|1821|137476
|1831|183015
|1841|222189
|1851|249992
|1861|311197
|1871|372402
|1881|433607
|1891|503493
|1901|552479
|1911|606250
|1921|625854
|1931|646119
|1941|668667
|1951|692003
|1961|715260
|1971|739401
|1981|696732
|1991|716760
|2001|715404
|2011|751500
|source=''Vision of Britain''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10057140&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Leeds District: total population |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=26 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111113419/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10057140&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=11 January 2012 |url-status=live}} Retrieved on 19 December 2008.</ref>
}}

In 2011, the Leeds urban subdivision had a population of 474,632 and had an area of {{convert|112|km2|sqmi}} with a population density of {{convert|4238|PD/km2|PD/sqmi}}.<ref name="citypopulation.de">{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-yorkshireandthehumber.php?cityid=E35001333 |title=Leeds (West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |website=www.citypopulation.de |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513081656/https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-yorkshireandthehumber.php?cityid=E35001333 |archive-date=13 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is bounded by, and physically attached to, the other towns of [[Garforth]] to the east, [[Morley, West Yorkshire|Morley]] to the southwest and [[Pudsey]] to the west, all being within the wider borough. 63% of the borough's population of 751,485 live in the urban subdivision, while it takes up only 21% of its total area of 552&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.

===Metropolitan district===
At the time of the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 UK Census]], the district had a total population of 811,953, representing a 8% growth since the previous census ten years earlier.<ref name="westyorkshireobservatory.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.westyorkshireobservatory.org/resource/view?resourceId=2661 |title=Archived copy |access-date=5 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513073857/http://www.westyorkshireobservatory.org/resource/view?resourceId=2661 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the 2001 UK Census, there were 301,614 households in Leeds; 33.3% were married couples living together, 31.6% were single-person households, 9.0% were [[cohabitation|co-habiting]] couples and 9.8% were single parents, following a similar trend to the rest of England.<ref name=household>{{cite web |title=Leeds Metropolitan Borough household composition (households) |publisher=Office for National Statistics |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276810&c=Leeds&d=13&e=16&g=382985&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1231357883004&enc=1&dsFamilyId=165 |access-date=22 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604061057/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276810&c=Leeds&d=13&e=16&g=382985&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1231357883004&enc=1&dsFamilyId=165 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The population density was {{convert|1967|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=on}}<ref name=household/> and for every 100 females, there were 93.5 males.

Leeds is a diverse city with over 75 ethnic groups, and with ethnic minorities representing 21% of the total population. According to figures from the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 UK Census]], 79% of the population was [[White people|White]] (73.4% [[White British]], 0.8% [[Irish migration to Great Britain|White Irish]], 0.2% [[Gypsy (term)|Gypsy]] or [[Irish Traveller]], 4.5% [[Other White]]), 3.3% of [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|mixed race]] (1.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.5% White and Black African, 0.9% White and Asian, 0.7% Other Mixed), 9.7% [[British Asian|Asian]] (3.9% [[British Pakistanis|Pakistani]], 2.6 % [[British Indian|Indian]], 0.7% [[British Bangladeshi|Bangladeshi]], 1.0% [[British Chinese|Chinese]], 1.5% Other Asian), 5.6% [[Black British|Black]] (4.0% African, 1.0% [[British African-Caribbean people|Caribbean]], 0.6% [[Other Black]]), 0.7% [[British Arab|Arab]] and 1.6% of other ethnic heritage. Leeds has seen many new different countries of birth as of the [[UK Census]] including [[Pakistan]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Iran]], [[India]] and [[Nigeria]] all included in the top ten countries of birth in the city. Large Pakistani communities can be seen in wards such as Gipton and Harehills. Chapel Allerton is known for having a large Caribbean community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/d2f0a39a-75b6-4995-b4bd-a5b68ff79027#get-data |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>

The majority of people in Leeds identify themselves as Christian.<ref name="Census Data">{{cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks209ew |title=KS209EW (Religion) – Nomis – Official Labour Market Statistics |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk |access-date=28 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229101301/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks209ew |archive-date=29 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The proportion of Muslims (3.0% of the population) is average for the country.<ref name="Census Data"/> Leeds has the third-largest community of Jews in the United Kingdom, after those of London and Manchester. The areas of [[Alwoodley]] and [[Moortown, Leeds|Moortown]] contain sizeable Jewish communities.<ref name=Freedman>M. Freedman (1988) "The Leeds Jewish Community" pp.&nbsp;161–174 ''in'' L. S. Tate (ed) ''Aspects of Leeds'' {{ISBN|1-871647-38-X}}</ref> 16.8% of Leeds residents in the 2001 census declared themselves as having "No Religion", which is broadly in line with the figure for the whole of the UK (also 8.1% "religion not stated"). The crime rate in Leeds is well above the national average, like many other English major cities.<ref name=crime_street>{{cite web |url=http://www.upmystreet.com/local/police-crime/figures/l/Leeds-4292.html |title=Crime figures in Leeds |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009215103/http://www.upmystreet.com/local/police-crime/figures/l/Leeds-4292.html |archive-date=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref name=crime_stat>{{cite web |url=http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk/tool/Default.asp?region=7&force=28&cdrp=106&l1=0&l2=0&l3=0&sub=0&v=36 |title=Crime Statistics for Leeds Apr 2005 – Mar 2006 |publisher=[[Home Office]] |access-date=26 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606025941/http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk/tool/Default.asp?region=7&force=28&cdrp=106&l1=0&l2=0&l3=0&sub=0&v=36 |archive-date=6 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In July 2006, the [[think tank]] [[Reform (think tank)|Reform]] calculated rates of crime for different offences and has related this to populations of major urban areas (defined as towns over 100,000 population). Leeds was 11th in this rating (excluding London boroughs, 23rd including London boroughs).<ref name="reform">{{cite web |url=http://www.reform.co.uk/filestore/pdf/Urban%20crime%20rankings,%20Reform,%20July%202006.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007225256/http://www.reform.co.uk/filestore/pdf/Urban%20crime%20rankings%2C%20Reform%2C%20July%202006.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 October 2006 |title=Urban Crime Rankings |date=July 2006}}</ref> Total recorded crime in Leeds fell by 45% between March 2002 and December 2011<ref name="westyorkshireobservatory.org"/>

==Governance==
{{see also|City of Leeds}}
[[File:Civic Hall Leeds West Yorkshire.jpg|right|thumb|[[Leeds Civic Hall]] is the seat of local government.]]
The [[City of Leeds]] is the [[Districts of England|local government district]] covering Leeds, and the local authority is [[Leeds City Council]]. The council is composed of 99 councillors, three for each of the district's [[wards of the United Kingdom|wards]]. Elections are held three years out of four, on the first Thursday of May. One third of the councillors are elected, for a four-year term, in each election. The council is currently controlled by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]. [[West Yorkshire]] does not have a county council, so Leeds City Council is the primary provider of local government services for the city. The district is in the [[Yorkshire and the Humber]] region of England.

Most of the district is an [[unparished area]]. In the unparished area, there is no lower tier of government. Outside the unparished area, there are 31 civil parishes, represented by [[Parish councils in England|parish councils]]. These are the lowest tier of local government<ref name=leeds_parish>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Council_and_democracy/Councillors_democracy_and_elections/Parish_and_town_councils.aspx |title=Parish and Town Councils |publisher=Leeds City Council |access-date=1 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405042856/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Council_and_democracy/Councillors_democracy_and_elections/Parish_and_town_councils.aspx |archive-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> and absorb some limited functions from Leeds City Council in their areas.

The district is represented by ten [[Member of Parliament|MP]]s, for the constituencies of [[Leeds Central and Headingley (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds Central and Headingley]] ([[Alex Sobel]], Labour) ; [[Leeds East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds East]] ([[Richard Burgon]], Labour); [[Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds North East]] ([[Fabian Hamilton]], Labour); [[Leeds North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds North West]] ([[Katie White (politician)|Katie White]], Labour); [[Leeds South (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds South]] ([[Hilary Benn]], Labour); [[Leeds South West and Morley (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds South West and Morley]] ([[Mark Sewards]], Labour); [[Leeds West and Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds West and Pudsey]] ([[Rachel Reeves]], Labour); [[Selby (UK Parliament constituency)|Selby]] (constituency shared with [[North Yorkshire (district)|North Yorkshire]]) ([[Keir Mather]], Labour); [[Wakefield and Rothwell (UK Parliament constituency)|Wakefield and Rothwell]] (constituency shared with [[City of Wakefield]]) ([[Simon Lightwood]], Labour); and [[Wetherby and Easingwold (UK Parliament constituency)|Wetherby and Easingwold]] (constituency shared with [[North Yorkshire (district)|North Yorkshire]]) ([[Alec Shelbrooke]], Conservative). <!--Leeds is within the [[Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency)|Yorkshire and the Humber]] European constituency, which {{as of|May 2019|lc=on}} is represented by three [[Brexit Party]], one [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], one [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] and one [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green]] [[Member of the European Parliament|Members of the European Parliament]].-->

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Leeds}}
[[File:Leedscity-2023.png|thumb|With an economy worth £64.6&nbsp;billion, Leeds is forecast to grow 21% over the next 10 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds economy |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-economy |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=www.leeds.gov.uk }}</ref>]]
Leeds has the most diverse economy of all the UK's main employment centres. It has seen the fastest rate of private sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of public to private sector jobs of all the UK's [[Core Cities]]. The city had the third-largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Business/Pages/Leeds-economy.aspx#http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Leeds%20economy%20at%20a%20glance%20%E2%80%93%20August%202016.pdf |title=Leeds economy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118082315/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Business/Pages/Leeds-economy.aspx#http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Leeds%20economy%20at%20a%20glance%20%E2%80%93%20August%202016.pdf |archive-date=18 January 2017}}</ref> 24.7% were in public administration, education and health, 23.9% were in banking, finance and insurance and 21.4% were in distribution, hotels and restaurants. It is in the banking, finance and insurance sectors that Leeds differs most from the financial structure of the region and the nation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Unsworth and Stillwell|2004|p=169}}</ref> There are 130,100 jobs in the city centre, accounting for 31% of all jobs in the wider district. In 2007, 47,500 jobs were in finance and business, 42,300 in public services, and 19,500 in retail and distribution. 43% of finance sector jobs in the district are contained in Leeds city centre and 44% of those employed in the city centre live more than nine kilometres ({{convert|9|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) away.<ref name=econ_leeds/>

In 2011, the financial and services industry in Leeds was worth £2.1&nbsp;billion, the fifth-largest in the UK, behind London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Tertiary industries such as retail, [[call centre]]s, offices and media have contributed to a high rate of economic growth. The city also hosts the only subsidiary office of the [[Bank of England]] in the UK. In 2012 GVA for the city was recorded at £18.8&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/LEH%2004%20Leeds%20Economy.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=9 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219012657/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/LEH%2004%20Leeds%20Economy.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> with the entire [[Leeds City Region]] generating a £56&nbsp;billion economy.<ref name="leeds.gov.uk"/>
[[File:Leeds Dock - 33641108418.jpg|thumb|[[Leeds Dock]]s|left]]
Key sectors include finance, retail, leisure and the visitor economy, construction, manufacturing and the creative and digital industries.<ref name="leeds.gov.uk"/> It has one of the most diverse economies of all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city. It also has the highest ratio of private to public sector jobs of all the UK's Core Cities, with 77% of its workforce working in the private sector. Leeds has the third-largest jobs total by local authority area, with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015.<ref name="leeds.gov.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Business/Pages/Leeds-economy.aspx |title=Leeds economy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118082315/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Business/Pages/Leeds-economy.aspx |archive-date=18 January 2017}}</ref> Leeds is ranked as a "High Sufficiency" level city by the [[Globalization and World Cities Research Network]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The World According to GaWC 2020 |url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html |website=GaWC – Research Network |publisher=Globalization and World Cities |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-date=24 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824031341/https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Today, Leeds has become the largest legal and financial centre outside London,<ref name="leeds.gov.uk"/><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.cisi.org/bookmark/genericform.aspx?form=29848780&url=CentresOutsideLondon |title=Financial centres outside london |publisher=Cisi.org |date=22 March 2012 |access-date=15 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716235214/http://www.cisi.org/bookmark/genericform.aspx?form=29848780&url=CentresOutsideLondon |archive-date=16 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> with the financial and insurance services industry worth £13&nbsp;billion to the city's economy.

Office developments, also traditionally located in the inner area, have expanded south of the River Aire and total {{convert|11000000|sqft}} of space.<ref name=econ_leeds>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2012/6/14%20city%20centre.pdf |title=The City Centre |work=Leeds Economy Handbook |publisher=Leeds City Council |access-date=2 July 2011}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In the period from 1999 to 2008 £2.5&nbsp;billion of property development was undertaken in central Leeds; of which £711&nbsp;million has been offices, £265&nbsp;million retail, £389&nbsp;million leisure and £794&nbsp;million housing. The city saw several firsts, including the oldest-surviving film in existence, ''[[Roundhay Garden Scene]]'' (1888), and the 1767 invention of [[soda water]].<ref name="gwr17">{{cite book |title=Guinness World Records 2017 |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000guin_y5t0 |url-access=registration |date=2016 |publisher=Guinness World Records |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000guin_y5t0/page/151 151]}}</ref><ref name="fizzy">{{cite news |title=Our fizzy seas of soda water |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/steve-jones/10153920/Our-fizzy-seas-of-soda-water.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=21 September 2016 |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418003553/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/steve-jones/10153920/Our-fizzy-seas-of-soda-water.html |archive-date=18 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Major companies based in the city include [[William Hill (bookmaker)|William Hill]], [[Channel 4]], [[International Personal Finance]], [[Asda]], [[Leeds Building Society]] and [[Northern Foods]]. [[Capita]] Group, [[KPMG]], [[Direct Line]], [[Aviva]], [[Yorkshire Building Society]], [[BT Group]], [[Telefónica Europe]] (O2 Ltd) and [[TD Waterhouse]] all also have a considerable presence in the city.<ref name="locateinleeds.co.uk" /> In addition to other national governmental offices, the city is home to a large [[Department for Work and Pensions]] office building located in [[Quarry Hill, Leeds|Quarry Hill]], notable for its imposing design.

Leeds is the UK's third-largest manufacturing centre and 50% of the UK's manufacturing base is within a two-hour drive of Leeds. With around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, Leeds manufacturing firms account for 8.8% of total employment in the city. The largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology.<ref name="Leeds 2013">[http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/manufacturing/ Manufacturing |Leeds economy & relocation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008134010/http://locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/manufacturing/|date=8 October 2010}}. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref> Manufacturing and distribution accounted for £26&nbsp;million of new property development in the period. There is an established creative industry in the city, particularly in the digital gaming sector. A number of large developers have studios in and around the city, including [[Activision]], developers of the mobile versions of the ''[[Call of Duty]]'' series,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-07-06-activision-leeds-to-develop-call-of-duty-handheld-games-report |title=Activision Leeds to develop Call of Duty handheld games – report |website=[[Eurogamer]] |date=6 July 2012}}</ref> and [[Rockstar Leeds]], developers of the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series. In 2009 Leeds was the first city outside London to host the [[EGX (expo)|Eurogamer Expo]].

===Finance===
[[File:Leeds CBD at night.jpg|thumb|right|The central business district at night]]
Leeds is the largest centre outside London for financial and business services. Over the next ten years, the economy is forecast to grow by 25% with financial and business services set to generate over half of GVA growth over that period with Finance and business services accounting for 38% of total output.

The finance and business service sector account for 38% of total output<ref name="leeds.gov.uk"/><ref name="investleedscityregion.com">{{cite web |url=http://investleedscityregion.com/invest/economy |title=Economy – Leeds |website=investleedscityregion.com |access-date=21 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601154122/http://investleedscityregion.com/invest/economy |archive-date=1 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |title=Table 3.4, ONS Regional GVA – December 2013 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-accounts/regional-gross-value-added--income-approach-/december-2013/rft-nuts3.xls |access-date=19 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219210913/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-accounts/regional-gross-value-added--income-approach-/december-2013/rft-nuts3.xls |archive-date=19 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> with more than 30 national and international banks located in the city, including an office of the [[Bank of England]].

Leeds has over 30 national and international banks, many of whose northern or regional offices are based in the city. It is the headquarters for [[First Direct]] and [[Yorkshire Bank]], and has large [[Barclays]], [[HSBC]], [[Lloyds Banking Group]], [[NatWest Group]] and [[Banco Santander|Santander]] operations.<ref name="locateinleeds.co.uk">[http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/financial-services/ Financial services |Leeds economy & relocation] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718234905/http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/financial-services/ |date=18 July 2013 }}. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref> The city is also an important centre for equity, venture, infrastructure and risk finance. The [[venture capital]] provider, YFM Equity Partners, founded in Leeds, is now the UK's largest provider of risk capital to small and medium-sized enterprises.<ref name="locateinleeds.co.uk" /> The [[National Wealth Fund (United Kingdom)|National Wealth Fund]], founded to support economic growth across the United Kingdom, is also based in Leeds.<ref name="Leeds UKIB">{{cite web |title=UK Infrastructure Bank |url=https://www.ukib.org.uk |website=UK Infrastructure Bank |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

===Law===
There are around 150 law firms operating in Leeds, employing over 6,700 people. According to The UK Legal 500, "Leeds has a sophisticated and highly competitive legal market, second only to London."<ref name="ReferenceA">[http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/legal-services/ Legal services |Leeds economy & relocation] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718235516/http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/legal-services/ |date=18 July 2013 }}. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref> Specialist legal expertise to be found in Leeds includes corporate finance, corporate restructuring and insolvency, global project financing, trade and investment, commercial litigation, competition, construction, Private Finance Initiatives and Public Private Partnerships, tax, derivatives, IT, employment, pensions, intellectual property, sport and entertainment.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The establishment of an Administrative Court in Leeds in April 2009 reinforced Leeds's position as one of the UK's key legal centres. The court previously sat only in London.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Leisure and tourism===
[[File:Harewood House from the terrace garden.JPG|thumb|[[Harewood House]] is a member of the [[Treasure Houses of England]], a marketing consortium for ten of the foremost historic homes in the country.]]
Tourism is important to the Leeds economy, in 2009 Leeds was the eighth-most visited city in England by UK visitors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 20 Most visited English Cities and Towns in 2009 by UK Residents |url=http://www.enjoyengland.com/Images/top%20towns%202009_tcm21-190501.pdf |access-date=7 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008000601/http://www.enjoyengland.com/Images/top%20towns%202009_tcm21-190501.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the 13th-most visited city by overseas visitors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 20 Most Popular UK Cities for International Visitors |url=http://gouk.about.com/od/getawaysandshorthops/qt/top20.htm |access-date=7 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204022854/http://gouk.about.com/od/getawaysandshorthops/qt/top20.htm |archive-date=4 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Research by [[VisitEngland]] reported that the day visitor market to Leeds attracts 24.9&nbsp;million people each year, worth over £654&nbsp;million to the local economy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics/major-tourism-surveys/dayvisitors/GBDVS2011.aspx |title=Great Britain Day Visitors Survey 2011 : VisitEngland Corporate Site |publisher=Visitengland.org |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055909/http://www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics/major-tourism-surveys/dayvisitors/GBDVS2011.aspx |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2017 [[Condé Nast Traveler]] survey of readers, Leeds rated 6th among the 15 best cities in the UK for visitors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-cities-in-the-uk |title=The best cities in the UK |website=www.cntraveller.com |access-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627230655/http://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-cities-in-the-uk |archive-date=27 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, Leeds received 27.29&nbsp;million leisure tourist visits generating over £1.6&nbsp;billion for the city, according to data from a STEAM survey. That was a 15.9% increase in revenue over 2015. A 9.7% increase in visits had been recorded since 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/increase-in-leeds-tourism-visitors |title=Increase in Leeds tourism visitors |work=Insider Media Ltd|date=6 July 2017 }}</ref> The industry supported over 19,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.leeds.gov.uk/full-steam-ahead-for-leeds-visitor-economy/ |title=Full steam ahead for Leeds visitor economy |access-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202343/https://news.leeds.gov.uk/full-steam-ahead-for-leeds-visitor-economy/ |archive-date=27 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Public sector===
[[File:Quarry Hill footbridge August 2017.jpg|thumb|NHS England HQ]]
In Leeds, 108,000 people work in the public sector—24% of the workforce. The largest employers are Leeds City Council, with 33,000 staff, and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with 14,000 staff.<ref name="ReferenceB">[http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/public-sector/ Public sector |Leeds economy & relocation] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718230830/http://www.locateinleeds.co.uk/economy/public-sector/ |date=18 July 2013 }}. Locate in Leeds. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref>

Leeds has become a hub of public-sector health bodies. The [[Department of Health and Social Care]] (DHSC), [[NHS England]], the [[Care Quality Commission]], [[NHS Digital]], and [[Public Health England]] all have large offices in Leeds. Europe's largest teaching hospital is also based in Leeds, and is home to the Yorkshire Cancer Centre, the largest of its kind in Europe.<ref>[http://www.leeds-city-guide.com/Body Information on Leeds – Facts and Figures] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701005232/http://www.leeds-city-guide.com/Body |date=1 July 2013 }}. Leeds City Guide. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref>

Key government departments and organisations in Leeds include the [[Department for Work and Pensions]], with over 3,000 staff, the DHSC, with over 800 staff, [[HM Revenue and Customs]] with over 1,200 staff and the [[British Library]] with 1,100 staff.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

===Trade===
[[File:Leeds Flickr 4 August 2022.jpg|thumb|King Edward Street]]
The city centre has a large [[pedestrian zone]]. [[Briggate]] is the main shopping street where one can find many well-known British [[High Street]] stores, including [[Marks & Spencer]], [[Costa Coffee]], and [[Harvey Nichols]]. Many companies have several stores within Central Leeds and the wider city.

Leeds is home to one of the largest indoor markets in Europe,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leedsmarkets |title=Leeds Kirkgate Market |website=Leeds City Council |access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref> [[Leeds Kirkgate Market]]. The district also has various regular local markets in Otley, Pudsey, and Yeadon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leedsmarkets/markets |title=Local Markets |website=Leeds City Council |access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref> Between 1987 – 1995, Leeds Kirkgate market was renovated. The changes have maximised the retail provision in the market without compromising the historical features of the building, so much so that the renovated Kirkgate Market Hall structure was promoted from Grade II to Grade I listing status, and was subsequently nominated for a Civic Trust Award.

There is an annual German Christmas Market ("Christkindelmarkt") based in [[Millennium Square, Leeds|Millennium Square]], usually running from early November to mid-late December.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.millsqleeds.com/christmasmarket/history/ |title=History |website=Christkindelmarkt German Christmas Market |access-date=4 December 2019 |archive-date=4 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204020121/https://www.millsqleeds.com/christmasmarket/history/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2020 Christmas Market was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Leeds City Council |url=https://www.millsqleeds.com/christmasmarket |title=Christkindelmarkt |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204020213/https://www.millsqleeds.com/christmasmarket |archivedate=4 December 2019 |accessdate= 6 October 2020}}</ref> The extensive retail area of Leeds is the principal regional shopping centre for the whole of the Yorkshire and the Humber region, offering a spend of £1.93&nbsp;billion annually in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.landsecuritiesretail.com/portfolio/Trinity-Leeds |title=Trinity Leeds, Leeds |publisher=Land Securities |access-date=23 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329042828/http://www.landsecuritiesretail.com/portfolio/Trinity-Leeds |archive-date=29 March 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> There are a number of indoor shopping centres in the centre of the city, including the [[Merrion Centre, Leeds|Merrion Centre]], [[St John's Centre]], [[Schofields (department store)|The Core]], the [[Victoria Quarter]], [[The Light (Leeds)|The Light]], the [[Leeds Corn Exchange|Corn Exchange]], [[Trinity Leeds]], and [[Victoria Gate]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Chapman |url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/sectors/retail/article/1130913/Trinity-Leeds-kicks-off-online-hype-ahead-2013-opening/ |title=Trinity Leeds kicks off online hype ahead of 2013 opening – Marketing news |work=Marketing magazine |date=10 May 2012 |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106201757/http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/sectors/retail/article/1130913/Trinity-Leeds-kicks-off-online-hype-ahead-2013-opening/ |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> In total, there are well over 1,000 retail stores, with a combined floorspace of {{convert|3660000|sqft}}<ref name="econ_leeds" /> in Leeds City Centre.[[File:County Arcade Victoria Quarter Leeds.jpg|thumb|left|[[Victoria Leeds|Victoria Quarter]], opened in 1900]]
The [[Victoria Leeds|Victoria Quarter]] is notable for its high-end luxury retailers and impressive architecture. 70 stores such as [[Louis Vuitton]], [[Vivienne Westwood]], [[Diesel (brand)|Diesel]], and anchor Harvey Nichols are contained within two iron-wrought Victorian arcades, and a new arcade formed by arcading Queen Victoria Street with the largest expanse of stained glass in Britain.<ref>[http://www.v-q.co.uk/57/section.aspx/alternate/7b1afff9a6d5458b922ca64234087f6f View Details (Popup) – VQ Website]. V-q.co.uk. Retrieved on 17 July 2013. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101153425/http://www.v-q.co.uk/57/section.aspx/alternate/7b1afff9a6d5458b922ca64234087f6f |date=1 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130505130100/http://www.uggaustralia.co.uk/leeds-store-opening/leeds-store-opening,en_GB,pg.html UGG® Australia comes to Leeds's Victoria Quarter]. UGG Australia. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref>[[File:Pinnacle, Leeds 16.jpg|thumb|[[Trinity Leeds]] is Leeds's largest shopping centre and one of the largest in Europe.]]In the Churwell area of Leeds is the [[White Rose Shopping Centre]]. Opening in 1997, the centre has over 100 high street stores anchored by Marks & Spencer, Primark, NEXT, and Sainsbury's.
On 21 March 2013, a large shopping and leisure complex called [[Trinity Leeds]] opened in the city centre. The modern and interactive retail space covers the old Burton Arcades and the former [[Trinity Leeds|Leeds Shopping Plaza]] with its main entrance from Briggate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.landsecuritiesretail.com/portfolio/Trinity-Leeds |title=Trinity Leeds, Leeds &#124; Land Securities Retail Portfolio &#124; Land Securities Retail |year=2012 |access-date=28 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117052806/http://www.landsecuritiesretail.com/portfolio/Trinity-Leeds |archive-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 20 October 2016, [[Victoria Leeds|Victoria Gate]] shopping centre opened with its flagship store, [[John Lewis (department store)|John Lewis]]. Three quarters of the stores in Victoria Gate were the first for the retailers outside of London.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/business/verdict-on-victoria-gate-launch-day-1-8192555 |title=Verdict on Victoria Gate launch day |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |access-date=30 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031150615/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/business/verdict-on-victoria-gate-launch-day-1-8192555 |archive-date=31 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Of the 40,000 people who work in retailing in Leeds, three quarters work in the wider district.<ref>{{Harvnb|Unsworth and Stillwell|2004|p=245}}</ref> The Springs, located to the east of the city suburbs, just off junction 46 of the M1.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Thorpe Park Leeds |url=https://thesprings-leeds.co.uk/getting-here/ |title=Getting here |accessdate= 10 January 2021}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
{{see also|Architecture of Leeds|Listed buildings in Leeds}}
Leeds displays a variety of natural and built landmarks. Natural landmarks include such diverse sites as the gritstone outcrop of [[The Chevin|Otley Chevin]] and the [[Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve]]. The city's parks at [[Roundhay Park|Roundhay]] and [[Temple Newsam]] have long been owned and maintained by the council for the benefit of ratepayers and among the open spaces in the centre of Leeds are [[Millennium Square, Leeds|Millennium Square]], [[Leeds City Square|City Square]], [[Park Square, Leeds|Park Square]], and Victoria Gardens. This last is the site of the central city [[war memorial]]: there are 42 other war memorials in the suburbs, towns and villages in the district.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Leisure_and_culture/Local_history_and_heritage/Memorial__maintenance.aspx |title=War memorials |work=Leeds City Council |access-date=6 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303123545/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Leisure_and_culture/Local_history_and_heritage/Memorial__maintenance.aspx |archive-date=3 March 2009}}</ref>

[[File:City Square Leeds 1 July 2017.jpg|thumb|[[City Square, Leeds|Leeds City Square]]]]
The built environment embraces edifices of civic pride like [[Morley Town Hall]] and the trio of buildings in Leeds, [[Leeds Town Hall]], [[Leeds Corn Exchange|Corn Exchange]], and [[Leeds City Museum]], by the architect [[Cuthbert Brodrick]]. The two white buildings on the Leeds skyline are the Parkinson building of Leeds University and the [[Leeds Civic Hall|Civic Hall]], with golden owls adorning the tops of the latter's twin spires.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20031021_1594179&DISPLAY=FULL |title=Leodis – a photographic archive of Leeds – Display |publisher=Leeds City Council. Leodis |access-date=6 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128191230/http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20031021_1594179&DISPLAY=FULL |archive-date=28 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Armley Mills]], [[Tower Works]], with its campanile-inspired towers, and the Egyptian-style [[Temple Works]] hark back to the city's industrial past, while the site and ruins of [[Kirkstall Abbey]] display the beauty and grandeur of [[Cistercian]] architecture. Notable churches are [[Leeds Minster]] (formerly Leeds Parish Church), [[St George's Church, Leeds|St George's Church]] and [[Leeds Cathedral]], in the city centre, and the [[Church of St John the Baptist, Adel]] and [[Bardsey, West Yorkshire|Bardsey]] Parish Church in quieter locations. Notable [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] chapels include the [[Salem Chapel, Leeds|Salem Chapel]], dating back to 1791 and notably the birthplace of Leeds United Football Club in 1919.<ref>{{cite web |title=aql's historic head office – the Salem Chapel |url=http://aql.com/news/198/ |publisher=aql |access-date=14 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119034019/http://www.aql.com/news/198/ |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Salem United Reformed Church: Historical Information |url=https://www.aql.com/documents/news/salem-blue-brochure.pdf |publisher=aql |access-date=14 April 2012 |page=6 |date=November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105052030/https://www.aql.com/documents/news/salem-blue-brochure.pdf |archive-date=5 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Leeds is one of only a few UK cities outside of London to have a significant number of [[high-rise building]]s, the {{convert|112|m|adj=on}} tower of [[Bridgewater Place]], also known as ''The [[Dalek]]'', is part of a major office and residential development and was the region's tallest building until [[Altus House, Leeds|Altus House]] was completed in 2021; it can be seen for miles (kilometres) around.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=734 |title=Bridgewater Place, Leeds – Building No.&nbsp;734 |publisher=skyscrapernews.com |access-date=5 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204071723/http://skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=734 |archive-date=4 February 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Among other Skyscrapers the 37-storey [[Sky Plaza]] to the north of the city centre stands on higher ground so that its {{convert|106|m}} is higher than Bridgewater Place and the aforementioned, 38-storey Altus House in Arena Quarter, standing at 380 metres. [[Elland Road]] (football) and [[Headingley Stadium]] (cricket and rugby) are well known to sports enthusiasts, and the [[White Rose Centre]] is a well-known retail outlet.

==Transport==
{{Main|Transport in Leeds}}
Leeds has extensive road, bus and rail networks. Public transport in the Leeds area is coordinated and developed by [[West Yorkshire Metro]].<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Metro |url=http://www.wymetro.com/aboutmetro/whatwedo/WhatisMetro.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927234918/http://www.wymetro.com/aboutmetro/whatwedo/WhatisMetro.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=10 February 2009 |publisher=Wymetro.com}}</ref> 

The city has good rail and road links to the rest of the country. [[Leeds railway station]] is one of the busiest in Britain, and Leeds is connected to the national road network via the [[A1(M)]] motorway, [[M1 motorway]] and [[M62 motorway]]. The city is served by [[Leeds Bradford Airport]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Bishop |first=Martin |date=10 April 2018 |title=Public Transport |url=https://newtoleeds.org/public-transport/ |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=New to Leeds}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Connecting Leeds and transforming travel |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/connecting-leeds-and-transforming-travel |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=www.leeds.gov.uk}}</ref> Plans to improve the public transport network in Leeds have been suggested. In the 1940s plans to build an extensive underground system were not proceeded with because of the Second World War.<ref>{{cite news |title=The secret plans to build a Leeds underground network that almost became a reality |url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/revealed-secret-plans-leeds-underground-14676260 |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> The [[Leeds Supertram]] in the 1990s at a cost of £500&nbsp;million was cancelled by the Transport Minister [[Alistair Darling]] in 2005 after £40&nbsp;million had been spent on the project due to unforeseen added costs. A proposed £250&nbsp;million re-introduction of [[Trolleybuses in Leeds|trolleybus]] in 2007; the plans were cancelled in May 2016 citing little value for money, after millions of pounds spent on inquiries.<ref>{{cite news |title='Not suitable for development': Leeds trolleybus scheme is thrown out |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/transport/not-suitable-for-development-leeds-trolleybus-scheme-is-thrown-out-1-7907098 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818001641/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/transport/not-suitable-for-development-leeds-trolleybus-scheme-is-thrown-out-1-7907098 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |access-date=12 August 2016 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post}}</ref>

In June 2019, in his bid to become Prime Minister, [[Boris Johnson]] stated that it was "madness" that Leeds did not have a metro system.<ref>{{cite news |title=Boris Johnson: 'Madness that Leeds does not have metro rail system' |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-madness-leeds-does-not-have-metro-rail-system-480189 |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> In December 2019, in his first [[Queen's Speech]], Johnson promised to "remedy the scandal that Leeds is the largest city in Western Europe without light rail or a metro".<ref>{{cite news |title=Boris Johnson promises to 'remedy the scandal' that Leeds has no mass transit system |url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/boris-johnson-promises-remedy-scandal-17451650 |access-date=21 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=29 December 2019 |title=Everything you should know about the future of public transport in Leeds |url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/public-transport-guide-to-leeds-17004014 |access-date=15 June 2020 |website=LeedsLive}}</ref> Plans are in place to improve public transport in Leeds, with upgrades to railway, bus services, and cycle lanes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Green light for 173.5m Leeds transport improvements |url=https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/all-news-and-blogs/news-archive/green-light-for-1735m-leeds-transport-improvements/ |access-date=19 October 2021 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Connecting Leeds £270 million investment in the transport network has completed |url=https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/connecting-leeds-gbp-270-million-investment-in-the-transport-network-has-completed |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=Leeds City Council News}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy |url=https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s226225/Connecting%20Leeds%20Report%20Appendix%202%20111021.pdf |journal=Leeds City Council}}</ref> A tram system for the city and wider region was announced in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Gregory |date=4 October 2023 |title=Rishi Sunak promises tram system for Leeds worth £2.5 billion |url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/rishi-sunak-promises-tram-system-27842466 |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=Leeds Live}}</ref>
=== Road ===
Leeds is the starting point of the [[A62 road|A62]], [[A63 road|A63]], [[A64 road|A64]], [[A65 road|A65]], [[A647 road|A647]], and [[A660 road|A660]] roads. The city is on the [[A58 road|A58]], [[A61 road|A61]] roads, the [[M1 motorway|M1]] and [[M62 motorway|M62]] motorways intersect to the south of Leeds and the [[A1(M) motorway|A1(M)]] passes to the east. The radial [[M621 motorway|M621]] takes traffic into central Leeds from the M62 and M1, the [[Leeds Inner Ring Road]] has part motorway status and the city has an [[Leeds Outer Ring Road|outer ring road]]. Part of the city centre<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/downloads/maps/leeds_city_centre_map.pdf |title=leedsliveitloveit |publisher=leedsliveitloveit |access-date=15 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325152134/http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/downloads/maps/leeds_city_centre_map.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref> is pedestrianised and encircled by the clockwise-only [[List of junctions on Leeds City Centre Loop Road|loop road]]. The East Leeds Orbital Route's construction started in summer 2019 and was completed in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=East Leeds Extension transport improvements |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/road-improvement-schemes/east-leeds-extension-transport-improvements |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=www.leeds.gov.uk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Price |first=David |date=21 February 2020 |title=Balfour Beatty wins £80m Leeds road scheme |url=https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/sections/contractors/balfour-beatty/balfour-beatty-wins-80m-leeds-road-scheme-21-02-2020/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Construction News }}</ref>[[File:20200808_First_Leeds_35291.jpg|thumb|Bus networks are widespread throughout the city and wider region.]]

Air quality in Leeds was declared "unsafe" by the [[World Health Organization]] in May 2019. Neville Street, near Leeds railway station, has been measured as the most polluted street outside London.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-47389568 |title=Air pollution: Leeds street worst outside London, says campaign |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/leeds-higher-levels-air-pollution-14605650 |title=Leeds has higher levels of air pollution than London |first=Nathan |last=Hyde |date=2 May 2018 |website=LeedsLive}}</ref> A [[Clean Air Zone]], throughout north Leeds and the city centre, was proposed in 2018. The plan, similar to the [[London Low Emission Zone]], would charge a daily fee for driving "older models of buses, taxis and HGVs" in the zone.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/09/drivers-faced-with-50-daily-charge-in-leeds-to-cut-air-pollution |title=Leeds lorry drivers face £50 daily charge in bid to cut air pollution |first=John |last=Bennett |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 October 2018 |via=www.theguardian.com |access-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014022619/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/09/drivers-faced-with-50-daily-charge-in-leeds-to-cut-air-pollution |archive-date=14 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The zone was planned to start charging vehicles in January 2020, before being cancelled in October 2020 because of improvements in the city's air quality.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/leeds-clean-air-zone-has-achieved-its-aims-early-and-is-no-longer-required-joint-review-finds |title=Leeds' Clean Air Zone has achieved its aims early and is no longer required, joint review finds |website=leeds.gov.uk |date=13 October 2020 |access-date=2 November 2020}}</ref>
====Buses====
[[Leeds City bus station]] (on Dyer Street) has long-distance bus services to nearby towns and cities and a small number of local area services. The main providers are [[First Leeds]] and [[Arriva Yorkshire]], the latter serves routes in the city's south. [[Harrogate Bus Company]] provides a service to [[Harrogate]] and [[Ripon]]. [[Keighley Bus Company]] provides a service to [[Shipley, West Yorkshire|Shipley]], [[Bingley]], and [[Keighley]]. The [[Yorkshire Coastliner]] service runs from Leeds to [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]] and [[Whitby]] via [[York]] and [[Malton, North Yorkshire|Malton]]. Also Transdev operates Flyer services to [[Leeds Bradford Airport]].

In March 2024, the [[West Yorkshire Combined Authority]] announced that buses in Leeds are set to be operated under public ownership.<ref>{{cite web |title=West Yorkshire Mayor takes buses back under public control |url=https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/all-news-and-blogs/west-yorkshire-mayor-takes-buses-back-under-public-control/ |access-date=21 April 2024 |website=West Yorkshire Combined Authority}}</ref>
[[File:Rental bicycles, The Headrow, Leeds (5th July 2024) 001.jpg|thumb|Electric rental [[Bicycle|bicycles]] are now widespread throughout the city.]]

====Cycling====
An electric bicycle rental scheme, Leeds City Bikes, operated by [[Beryl (company)|Beryl]], opened in September 2023.<ref name="bbc-ebike">{{cite web |title=Leeds e-bike rentals beating expectations, says city council |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-67132210 |website=BBC News |access-date=17 March 2024 |date=17 October 2023}}</ref> The bikes are collected from bays around the city centre, and hirers are penalised if they do not return the bike to one of the bays.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds City Bikes by Beryl |url=https://beryl.cc/scheme/leeds |website=beryl.cc |publisher=Beryl |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>

===Rail===
[[File:LNER 801 and East Midlands Railway 222001 at Leeds.jpg|thumb|[[Leeds railway station]]]]
In 2017 Leeds had the third busiest {{rws|Leeds||railway station}} in the UK<ref>{{cite web |url=http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/26129/estimates-of-station-usage-2016-17-key-facts.pdf |publisher=[[Office of Rail and Road]] |date=1 December 2017 |access-date=21 March 2018 |title=Estimates of Station Usage 2016–17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205231342/http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/26129/estimates-of-station-usage-2016-17-key-facts.pdf |archive-date=5 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> outside of [[London]]. From the station at New Station Street, [[West Yorkshire Metro]] trains operated by [[Northern (train operating company)|Northern]] run to Leeds' suburbs, the wider area, national and international connections. The station has 18 platforms, the most outside of London.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leeds station map 2021 |url=https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Leeds-Map.pdf |publisher=[[Network Rail]] |access-date=6 February 2023}}</ref>

The City of Leeds local government area has 16 railway stations. A parkway station serving Leeds Bradford Airport and two other new stations in the area, planned for within the next 20 years, were announced in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plans for three new Leeds railway stations unveiled |url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/plans-for-three-new-leeds-railway-stations-unveiled |access-date=13 June 2018 |work=www.railtechnologymagazine.com |date=5 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612185548/http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/plans-for-three-new-leeds-railway-stations-unveiled |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Air===
[[Leeds Bradford Airport]] is in [[Yeadon, West Yorkshire|Yeadon]], about {{convert|8|mi||abbr=}} to the north-west of the city centre, and has direct flights to eight UK and 70 international destinations. It is the tenth busiest [[Leeds Bradford Airport|airport]] outside London,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2017/ |title=Airport data 2017 – UK Civil Aviation Authority |website=www.caa.co.uk |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141641/http://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2017/ |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with scheduled services to [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol|Amsterdam]], [[Dublin Airport|Dublin]], and [[Barcelona–El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport|Barcelona]]. There is a direct rail service from Leeds city centre to [[Manchester Airport]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Trainline.com Ltd. |url=https://www.thetrainline.com/train-times/leeds-to-manchester-airport |title=Leeds to Manchester Airport by train | accessdate= 1 May 2021}}</ref>

=== Walking ===
Leeds is claimed by the city council to be one of the best cities in the UK for walking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New statistics show Leeds is top city for walking |url=https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/new-statistics-show-leeds-is-top-city-for-walking |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Leeds City Council News |language=english}}</ref> The [[Leeds Country Way]] is a waymarked circular walk of {{convert|62|mi}} through the rural outskirts of the city, never more than {{convert|7|mi|0}} from [[Leeds City Square|City Square]]. The [[Meanwood Valley Trail]] leads from [[Woodhouse Moor]] along [[Meanwood Beck]] to [[Golden Acre Park]]. The Leeds extension of the [[Dales Way]] follows the Meanwood Valley Trail before it branches off to head towards [[Ilkley]] and [[Windermere]]. Leeds is on the northern section of the [[Trans Pennine Trail]] for walkers and cyclists, and the towpath of the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] is another walking and cycling route. [[The White Rose Way]] walking trail to [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]] begins at City Square. There are many parks and public footpaths in both the urban and rural parts of Leeds, and [[The Ramblers]]' Association, [[Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)|YHA]] and other walking organisations offer sociable walks. The Ramblers' Association publish booklets of walks in and around Leeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ramblersyorkshire.org/publications.html |title=RA website with walking booklets |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227074159/http://www.ramblersyorkshire.org/publications.html |archive-date=27 February 2010}}</ref>

==Education==
===Museums===
Leeds has 16 museums and galleries including nine that are council-run. Smaller museums in Leeds include [[Otley Museum]]; [[Horsforth]] Village Museum;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/yh000070 |title=Horsforth Village Museum |work=Culture 24 |access-date=29 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030232308/http://www.culture24.org.uk/yh000070 |archive-date=30 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ULITA, an Archive of International Textiles;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ulita.leeds.ac.uk/ |title=ULITA |work=University of Leeds International Textiles Archive |access-date=29 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129114938/http://ulita.leeds.ac.uk/ |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the museum at [[Fulneck Moravian Settlement]]. [[Leeds City Museum]] opened in 2008<ref name="citymuseum">{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/cityMuseum/ |title=Leeds City Museum website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610204006/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/cityMuseum/ |archive-date=10 June 2015}}</ref> at [[Millennium Square, Leeds|Millennium Square]]. It is a major museum for the city, showcasing its designated collections of local history; world cultures; natural history; archaeology and fine and decorative arts plus a diverse programme of special exhibitions.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bond |first=Chris |date=12 September 2008 |title=Long-awaited new museum set to go down in city's history |work=The Yorkshire Post |url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/art/Longawaited-new-museum-set-to.4487043.jp |accessdate=10 May 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Royal Armouries Leeds West Yorkshire.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Armouries Museum]]]] [[Abbey House Museum]] is housed in the former gatehouse of [[Kirkstall Abbey]], and includes walk-through Victorian streets and galleries describing the history of the abbey, childhood, and Victorian Leeds. [[Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills|Armley Mills Industrial Museum]] is housed in what was once the world's largest woollen mill,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/armleymills/ |title=Museum homepage, hosted on Leeds City Council website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701223227/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/armleymills/ |archive-date=1 July 2012}}</ref> and includes industrial machinery and railway locomotives. This museum also shows the first known moving pictures in the world which were taken in the city, by [[Louis Le Prince]], of a ''[[Roundhay Garden Scene]]'' and of ''[[Leeds Bridge]]'' in 1888. [[Thackray Museum of Medicine]] is a museum of the history of medicine, featuring topics such as Victorian public health, pre-anaesthesia surgery, and safety in childbirth. It is housed in a former [[workhouse]] next to [[St James's University Hospital|St James's Hospital]]. The museum closed temporarily in 2019 for a £4 million refurbishment. The redeveloped museum has since been shortlisted for [[Art Fund]]'s [[Museum of the Year]] award 2021 and received a special commendation from the European Museum Forum in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THACKRAY MUSEUM OF MEDICINE SHORTLISTED FOR £100,000 ART FUND MUSEUM OF THE YEAR 2021 – Thackray Museum of Medicine |url=https://thackraymuseum.co.uk/thackray-museum-of-medicine-shortlisted-for-100000-art-fund-museum-of-the-year-2021/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=thackraymuseum.co.uk}}</ref>

The [[Royal Armouries Museum]], the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour, opened in 1996 in a dramatic modern building when this part of the collection was transferred from the [[Tower of London]]. It is located a short distance from the city centre at Leeds Dock. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and Armour, National [[Artillery]] Collection, and National [[Firearms]] Collection. [[Thwaite Mills]] Watermill Museum is a fully restored 1820s water-powered mill on the [[River Aire]] to the east of the city centre. Nearby is the Leeds Museum Discovery Centre (formerly housed at the Leeds Museum Resource Centre in [[Yeadon, West Yorkshire|Yeadon]]),<ref name="NatArch">[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/a/A13532222 National Archives] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304113855/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/a/A13532222 |date=4 March 2017 }} Leeds Museum Discovery Centre</ref> the major storage of items not currently on display in museums, and open to the public by appointment.<ref name="NatArch" /><ref name="Discovery">[http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/discoverycentre.aspx Leeds Discovery Centre] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502234856/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/discoverycentre.aspx |date=2 May 2017 }} website</ref>

===Universities and colleges===
[[File:Broadcasting Tower, Leeds, West Yorkshire.jpg|thumb|right|Broadcasting Tower at [[Leeds Beckett University]]]]The city is served by five universities. It has the UK's fourth-largest student population and the country's [[List of UK cities by GVA|fourth-largest urban economy]].<ref name="BrookingsMetroEconomy">{{cite web |url=http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/global-metro-monitor-3 |title=Global MetroMonitor |access-date=23 December 2013 |last1=Istrate |first1=Emilia |last2=Nadeau |first2=Carey Anne |date=November 2012 |place=Washington, DC |publisher=The Brookings Institution |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605135349/http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/global-metro-monitor-3 |archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> Institutions providing higher education include:
*The [[University of Leeds]], which received its charter in 1904 having developed from the Yorkshire College which was founded in 1874 and the Leeds School of Medicine of 1831;
*[[Leeds Beckett University]], formerly Leeds Polytechnic, which became a university in 1992 as Leeds Metropolitan University, and can trace its roots to the [[Mechanics' Institutes|Mechanics' Institute]] of 1824;
*[[Leeds Trinity University]], which began in 1966 as two teacher training colleges which merged in 1980 to form Trinity and All Saints College and became a university in 2012;
*[[Leeds Arts University]], formerly Leeds College of Art, which was founded in 1846 as the Leeds School of Art, and became a university in 2017;
*The [[University of Law]], formerly the College of Law, which became a university in 2012 and moved to its current Leeds centre campus from [[York]] in 2014;
*[[Leeds Conservatoire]];
*[[Northern School of Contemporary Dance]];
*[[University Centre Leeds]], part of Leeds City College.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ucleeds.ac.uk/ |title=Home |website=University Centre Leeds}}</ref>
The University of Leeds has about 31,000 students, of which 21,500 are full-time or sandwich undergraduate degree students,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucas.ac.uk/instit/i/l23.html |title=University of Leeds |work=UCAS |access-date=5 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610123654/http://www.ucas.ac.uk/instit/i/l23.html |archive-date=10 June 2008}}</ref> Leeds Beckett University has 25,805<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk |title=Leeds Beckett University |date=9 March 2016 |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129052400/http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/ |archive-date=29 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> students of which 12,000 are full-time or sandwich undergraduate degree students and 2,100 full-time or sandwich HND students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucas.ac.uk/instit/i/l27.html |title=Leeds Beckett University |work=UCAS |access-date=5 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609104556/http://www.ucas.ac.uk/instit/i/l27.html |archive-date=9 June 2008}}</ref> Leeds Trinity University has just under 3,000 students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/ABOUTUS/Pages/default.aspx |title=About us |work=Leeds Trinity University College |access-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925081903/http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=25 September 2009}}</ref> The city was voted the best UK university Destination by a survey in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper.<ref name="cug">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6537 |title=The Complete University Guide |publisher=The Complete University Guide |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029182627/http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6537 |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Further education]] in Leeds is provided by [[Elliott Hudson College]], [[Leeds City College]] (formed by a merger in 2009 and having over 60,000 students), [[Leeds College of Building]], [[University Technical College Leeds|University Technical College (UTC) Leeds]], [[Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College]], and [[Leeds Mathematics School]].<ref>{{cite web |date=13 December 2022 |title=About – Leeds Mathematics School |url=https://lmas.ac.uk/about/ |access-date=2 January 2024 }}</ref>

===Schools===
{{See|List of schools in Leeds}}

==Culture and community==
{{See also|Culture of Leeds}}In 2018, Leeds embarked on a five-year cultural investment programme, culminating in a year of cultural celebration in 2023. In 2023, the city hosted [[Leeds 2023]], an international cultural festival.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://leeds2023.co.uk/about/ |title=About Leeds 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315072812/http://leeds2023.co.uk/about/ |archive-date=15 March 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=LEEDS 2023 – Year of Culture |url=https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/leeds-2023-year-of-culture/ |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=Visit Leeds }}</ref>

===Art===
[[File:Leeds. Henry Moore town - geograph.org.uk - 353135.jpg|thumb|Henry Moore Statue outside [[Leeds Art Gallery]]]]
[[Leeds Art Gallery]], which opened in 1888, houses the best twentieth century collection outside London and a colourful wall painting for the Victorian staircase by Lothar Götz. The gallery is owned and operated by [[Leeds City Council]] and is free to members of the public. Just next door, [[Henry Moore Institute|The Henry Moore Institute]] hosts a year-round programme of historical, modern and contemporary exhibitions presenting sculpture from across the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/things-to-do/Explore-Art.aspx |title=Explore Art |website=www.visitleeds.co.uk |accessdate=11 March 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212152702/https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/things-to-do/explore-art.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Located in the art deco headquarters of the former brewery, [[The Tetley (Leeds)|The Tetley]] is a centre for contemporary art. The Gallery at 164 is an independent art gallery exhibiting artists, illustrators, photographers and designers working in all types of media.

The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery offers art exhibitions from the University Art Collection and Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery. Art is taught in Leeds at [[Leeds College of Art]] which has alumni including [[Henry Moore]] and [[Damien Hirst]]. Leeds city centre has a variety of statues and sculptures on public display. The city also features an ever-growing host of street art and urban murals, including the UK's tallest mural 'Athena Rising'.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-44424023 |title=Towering owl mural scoops national award |date=9 June 2018 |accessdate=11 March 2019}}</ref> This mural is part of a city-wide project 'A City Less Grey', initiated by East Street Arts, which won a national award at the Planning Awards 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leedsbid.co.uk/national-recognition-project-make-city-streets-little-less-grey |title=National Recognition For Project To Make City Streets A Little Less Grey |date=8 June 2018 |website=Leeds Bid |accessdate=11 March 2019 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814014753/https://www.leedsbid.co.uk/national-recognition-project-make-city-streets-little-less-grey |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Public art====
[[File:Billy Bremner Statue - Elland Road - geograph.org.uk - 624224.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a statue of footballer Billy Bremner at Elland Road Stadium|Statue of footballer Billy Bremner at Elland Road Stadium]]
{{Main|List of public art in Leeds}}
The city has a number of public artworks ranging from traditional statues to contemporary work. These include several works by [[Alfred Drury]] and one of [[Joseph Beuys]] [[7000 Oaks]].<ref>https://www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FInspiring-Oak-Trees-talk-transcript.pdf&usg=AOvVaw085p0MfAPw9CxLJcJQrDXx&opi=89978449</ref> Two bronze statues stand at Elland Road Stadium celebrating former manager [[Don Revie]] and team captain [[Billy Bremner]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.leedsunited.com/news/club/22591/bremner-square-launched | title=Bremner Square Launched | date=24 November 2017 }}</ref>

===Events===
[[File:Leeds West Indian Carnival.jpg|thumb|right|Leeds West Indian Carnival]]
[[File:7.10.16 Light Night Leeds 088 (30096460721).jpg|thumb|Light Night, one of the UK's largest annual arts and light festivals]]
[[Leeds West Indian Carnival]] is Western Europe's oldest West Indian Carnival, and the UK's third-largest after the Notting Hill and Nottingham Carnival.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/features/get_together/carnival/2003_review.shtml |title=Leeds Get-together – Leeds West Indian Carnival |publisher=BBC |access-date=22 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724114208/http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/features/get_together/carnival/2003_review.shtml |archive-date=24 July 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedscarnival.co.uk/ |title=Leeds West Indian Carnival |publisher=Leedscarnival.co.uk |date=7 August 2005 |access-date=22 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528080515/http://www.leedscarnival.co.uk/ |archive-date=28 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It attracts around 100,000 people over 2 days to the streets of Chapeltown and Harehills. There is a large procession that finishes at Potternewton Park, where there are stalls, entertainment and refreshments. The [[Reading and Leeds Festivals|Leeds Festival]], featuring some of the biggest names in rock and indie music, takes place every year in [[Bramham Park]]. The Leeds Asian Festival, formerly the Leeds [[Mela]], is held in Roundhay Park.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.roundhaytoday.co.uk/roundhaypark/Roundhay-Park-hosts-Leeds-Asian.5531416.jp |title=Roundhay Park hosts Leeds Asian Festival |last=McTaggart |first=Susan |date=6 August 2009 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |access-date=2 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029142114/http://www.roundhaytoday.co.uk/roundhaypark/Roundhay-Park-hosts-Leeds-Asian.5531416.jp |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Otley]] Folk Festival (patron: [[Nic Jones]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.otleyfolkfestival.com/ |title=Otley Folk Festival website |access-date=2 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502184822/http://www.otleyfolkfestival.com/ |archive-date=2 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Walking Festival,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chevintrek.co.uk/index.asp?function=WEBPAGE&page=3 |title=Otley Walking Festival |work=Chevin Trek |access-date=2 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626071133/http://www.chevintrek.co.uk/index.asp?function=webpage&page=3 |archive-date=26 June 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Carnival,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.otley.co.uk/Carnival/index.htm |title=Otley Carnival |work=Otley Town Council |access-date=2 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311182401/http://www.otley.co.uk/Carnival/index.htm |archive-date=11 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and Victorian Christmas Fayre<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wharfedaleobserver.co.uk/news/4683577.Otley_Victorian_Fayre_gets_injection_of_new_blood/ |title=Otley Victorian Fayre gets injection of new blood |last=Jack |first=Jim |date=16 October 2009 |work=Wharfedale & Airedale Observer |access-date=2 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022203200/http://www.wharfedaleobserver.co.uk/news/4683577.Otley_Victorian_Fayre_gets_injection_of_new_blood/ |archive-date=22 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> are annual events. [[Light Night]] Leeds takes place each October, and many venues in the city are open to the public for [[Heritage Open Days]] in September.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedscivictrust.org.uk/view.aspx?id=34 |title=Heritage Open Days |work=Leeds Civic Trust |access-date=2 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527144859/http://www.leedscivictrust.org.uk/view.aspx?id=34 |archive-date=27 May 2011}}</ref> The [[Leeds International Piano Competition|Leeds International Pianoforte Competition]], established in 1963 by [[Fanny Waterman]] and [[Marion Stein]], has been held in the city every three years since 1963 and has launched the careers of many major concert pianists. The Leeds International Concert Season, which includes orchestral and choral concerts in [[Leeds Town Hall]] and other events, is the largest local authority music programme in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsconcertseason.com/view.aspx?id=42 |title=Leeds International Concert Season website |publisher=Leedsconcertseason.com |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809121303/http://www.leedsconcertseason.com/view.aspx?id=42 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Leeds International Film Festival]] is the largest film festival in England outside London<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/films/2003/09/film_fest.shtml |title=Lights, camera, action |publisher=BBC |date=September 2003 |access-date=22 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114203505/http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/films/2003/09/film_fest.shtml |archive-date=14 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> and shows films from around the world. It incorporates the highly successful ''Leeds Young People's Film Festival'', which features exciting and innovative films made both for and by children and young people.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leedsfilmcity.com/ |title=Home |website=www.leedsfilmcity.com |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322213240/https://www.leedsfilmcity.com/ |archive-date=22 March 2019 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> [[Garforth]] is host to the fortnight-long festival The [[Garforth Arts Festival]] which has been an annual event since 2005. The [[Chapel Allerton]] Arts Festival is a week-long music and arts event starting in 1998 and held the week after August Bank Holiday each year.<ref>{{cite web |author=Chapel Allerton Arts Festival |url=http://www.chapelallerton.org.uk |title=Chapel Allerton Arts Festival |publisher=Chapelallerton.org.uk |date=26 February 2014 |access-date=15 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211064506/http://www.chapelallerton.org.uk/ |archive-date=11 February 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[Leeds Festival Fringe]] is a week long-music festival created in 2010 to showcase local talent in the week prior to Leeds Festival.

Light Night, one of the UK's largest annual arts and light festivals, takes place in the first week of October, turning the entire city into an art installation with light shows, projections, installations and lots more.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whatson.leeds.gov.uk/lightnight |title=Light Night Leeds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530092403/https://whatson.leeds.gov.uk/lightnight |archive-date=30 May 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> [[Leeds Pride]] is an annual [[LGBT+]] festival held since 2006 supported by the city council and local business.<ref name="YEP2006">{{cite news |last=Glypta |first=Anna |date=10 August 2006 |title=Share in our Pide |work=Yorkshire Evening Post}}</ref> In 2018 attendance was 40,000<ref name="YEP2018">{{cite news |last=Evans |first=Alex |date=5 August 2018 |title=Leeds Pride 2018: Thousands gather in Leeds city centre for colourful event |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/leeds-pride-2018-thousands-gather-in-leeds-city-centre-for-colourful-event-1-9285689 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref> with over 100 floats and benefits the city by over £3.8&nbsp;million.<ref name="YEP2018" /><ref name="Impact">{{cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5494391de4b0a37ddc0bf8d0/t/5a8ae77a41920223d0c61a3f/1519052699411/LP+Impact+Survey+V2.pdf |title=Leeds Pride – Impact Survey 2017 |access-date=7 July 2018 |archive-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708004253/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5494391de4b0a37ddc0bf8d0/t/5a8ae77a41920223d0c61a3f/1519052699411/LP+Impact+Survey+V2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="BBC2018">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-45076587 |title=Thousands turn out for Leeds Pride parade |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=5 August 2018 |website=BBC News|access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref> The city has a sponsorship scheme for its 15 Rainbow Plaques commemorating places and events that are of significance to the LGBT+ community organised through [[Leeds Civic Trust]].<ref name="YEP12Feb2018">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Rainbow plaque trail set for Leeds |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/rainbow-plaque-trail-set-for-leeds-1-9012636 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=12 February 2018 |access-date=11 October 2018}}</ref> Other festivals include Transform and Thought Bubble.

===Film===
[[File:Louis Le Prince.jpg|thumb|[[Louis Le Prince]]]]
In October 1888 [[Louis Le Prince]] filmed moving picture sequences ''[[Roundhay Garden Scene]]'' and a ''[[Leeds Bridge]]'' street scene using his single-lens camera and [[Kodak|Eastman]]'s paper film.<ref name="nationalmediamuseum">{{cite web| url=http://www.meiermovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/PioneersOfEarlyCinemaLouisLePrince.pdf| title=Pioneers of Early Cinema: 1, Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (1841–1890?)| page=2| publisher=www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk| quote=he developed a single-lens camera which he used to make moving picture sequences at the Whitley family home in Roundhay and of Leeds Bridge in October 1888. ... it has been claimed that a photograph of a drowned man in the Paris police archives is that of Le Prince.| access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref> These were several years before the work of competing inventors such as [[Auguste and Louis Lumière]] and [[Thomas Edison]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33198686|work=BBC News|date=24 August 2016}}</ref> Today, [[Leeds International Film Festival]]'s International Short Film Competition is named after Louis Le Prince.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsfilm.com/shortfilm/ |title=Leeds Short Film |access-date=2 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308063951/http://www.leedsfilm.com/shortfilm/ |archive-date=8 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The 2015 documentary film ''[[The First Film]]'', which first aired at the [[Edinburgh International Film Festival]], documents Le Prince's pioneering status.<ref name="youngs">{{cite news |last1=Youngs |first1=Ian |title=Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33198686 |access-date=25 November 2016 |work=BBC News |date=23 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019011420/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33198686 |archive-date=19 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Wordsworth Donisthorpe]] who was also from Leeds, filmed the second-oldest-surviving film. It is not known if he and Louis Le Prince ever met but they both had a strong connection to the [[Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society]]. Donisthorpe's patent for a camera to capture the moving image pre dated Le Prince's by twelve years.

Leeds has a rich film exhibition culture. In addition to the Leeds International Film Festival and Leeds Young Film Festival, the city hosts numerous independent cinemas and pop-up venues for film screenings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsfilm.com/leedsfilmcity/ |title=Leeds Film City |access-date=27 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527163014/http://www.leedsfilm.com/leedsfilmcity/ |archive-date=27 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[The Cottage Road Cinema]] and [[Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds|Hyde Park Picture House]] have continuously been showing films since 1912 and 1914, respectively, which ranks them among the oldest still-running cinemas in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cottageroad.co.uk/index.php |title=Cottage Road Cinema |access-date=27 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527152212/http://www.cottageroad.co.uk/index.php |archive-date=27 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Literature===
Leeds has produced many [[:category:Writers from Leeds|writers of note]], including celebrated author and playwright [[Alan Bennett]]. [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], author of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', lived and taught in Leeds from 1921 to 1925.<ref>{{cite web |title=Looking at literary Leeds |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/culture/book_review/authors/index.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 September 2020 |date=28 October 2014}}</ref> Author [[Joanne Harris]] was a teacher at [[Leeds Grammar School]] for 15 years, and based several of her novels on her experiences there.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-05-06 |title=Why author Joanne Harris' latest novel proves she's in a class of her own |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/books/why-author-joanne-harris-latest-novel-proves-shes-in-a-class-of-her-own-1799224 |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Yorkshire Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-01-08 |title=Education: Boys' own stories |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/education-boys-own-stories-lwhd0nttqbv |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2019 and 2020, Leeds hosted the Leeds Lit Fest, a "non-traditional" literature festival, incorporating talks, panels, and workshops.<ref name="litfest">{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.leedslitfest.co.uk/about-us/ |website=www.leedslitfest.co.uk |publisher=Leeds Lit Fest |access-date=10 September 2020 }}</ref> There are plans to create a National Poetry Centre in Leeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/27/simon-armitage-plans-national-headquarters-for-poetry-in-leeds-poet-laureate |title=Simon Armitage plans national 'headquarters' for poetry in Leeds |date=27 February 2020 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

Notable libraries in Leeds are:
*[[Leeds Central Library]], a [[public library]] on Calverley Street, is near the city's municipal buildings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Central Library |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/central-library |website=www.leeds.gov.uk |publisher=Leeds City Council |access-date=10 September 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328191125/https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/central-library |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Leeds Library]], a private [[subscription library]] on Commercial Street, is the oldest surviving library of this kind in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.theleedslibrary.org.uk/library-information/about-us/ |website=The Leeds Library |date=16 January 2017 |access-date=10 September 2020 }}</ref>
*A [[Boston Spa]] collection of [[The British Library]], a national [[research library]], includes the library's newspaper archive of over 20&nbsp;million items.<ref>{{cite web |title=Boston Spa |url=https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/boston-spa |website=The British Library |access-date=10 September 2020 |archive-date=9 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809233348/https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/boston-spa |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*A city centre library by [[The British Library]] is planned to open as of 2020 at a later date.<ref>{{cite web |title=Budget 2020 – transforming the British Library's presence in the north |url=https://www.bl.uk/press-releases/2020/march/budget-2020-transforming-the-british-librarys-presence-in-the-north |publisher=British Library |access-date=10 September 2020 |date=2020 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115181933/https://www.bl.uk/press-releases/2020/march/budget-2020-transforming-the-british-librarys-presence-in-the-north |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Parks and open spaces===
[[File:Waterloo Lake Roundhay 07.jpg|thumb|right|Waterloo Lake in [[Roundhay Park]], one of the largest urban parks in Europe]]
[[File:Temple Newsam.jpg|thumb|The mansion and garden at [[Temple Newsam]]]]

Leeds has many large parks and open spaces. [[Roundhay Park]] is the largest park in the city and is one of the largest city parks in Europe. The park has more than {{convert|700|acre|km2}}<ref>{{cite news |date=2017 |title=High-wire rope course plan ditched |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-38810848 |url-status=live |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926214248/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-38810848 |archive-date=26 September 2018}}</ref> of parkland, lakes, woodland and gardens which are all owned by Leeds City Council.

Other parks in the city include: [[Beckett Park]], Bramley Fall Park, Cross Flatts Park, East End Park, [[Golden Acre Park]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Acre Park |url=https://goldenacrepark.co.uk |website=Golden Acre Park |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> Gotts Park,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Leeds City Council |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/parks-and-countryside/your-local-park/gotts-park |title=Gotts Park |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923123927/https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/parks-and-countryside/your-local-park/gotts-park|archivedate=23 September 2018 |accessdate= 23 September 2018}}</ref> the gardens and grounds of [[Harewood House]], Horforth Hall Park, Meanwood Park, [[Middleton Park]], Potternewton Park, Pudsey Park,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Leeds City Council |url=https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/parks-and-countryside/major-parks/pudsey-park |title=Pudsey Park |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911191420/https://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/parks-and-countryside/major-parks/pudsey-park|archivedate=11 September 2018 |accessdate= 23 September 2018}}</ref> [[Temple Newsam]], Western Flatts Park and [[Woodhouse Moor]]. There are many more smaller parks and open spaces scattered around the city, which make up around 21.7% of the city's total area. A 2017 survey ranked Leeds 7th among the ten largest UK cities (by population) for the amount of green space, although published comments on the survey pointed out major inconsistencies in the city boundaries used.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 January 2017 |title=How green is your city? UK's top 10 mapped and ranked |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2017/jan/05/green-space-uk-largest-cities-mapped |url-status=live |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613161217/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2017/jan/05/green-space-uk-largest-cities-mapped |archive-date=13 June 2018}}</ref>

As part of the South Bank regeneration project, plans are in development for [[Aire Park]], a new 3.5 hectare city centre park located close to the former Tetley Brewery site.<ref>{{cite web |title=NEW LANDMARK CITY CENTRE PARK IN LEEDS SET TO MOVE A STEP CLOSER |url=https://southbankleeds.co.uk/news/new-landmark-city-centre-park-in-leeds-set-to-move-a-step-closer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530110613/https://southbankleeds.co.uk/news/new-landmark-city-centre-park-in-leeds-set-to-move-a-step-closer |archive-date=30 May 2019 |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> Planning permission for the first phase to be undertaken by Vastint UK was granted in December 2018.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 December 2018 |title=City park at Tetley's site gains planning permission |url=https://southleedslife.com/city-park-at-tetleys-site-gains-planning-permission/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530103110/https://southleedslife.com/city-park-at-tetleys-site-gains-planning-permission/ |archive-date=30 May 2019 |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> In 2023, the Monk Bridge viaduct was restored by a developer and subsequently opened as the [[Monk Bridge Viaduct Garden]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maclure |first1=Abbey |title=Monk Bridge Viaduct: Inside the secret garden on top of a railway viaduct in Leeds city centre |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/lifestyle/homes-and-gardens/monk-bridge-viaduct-inside-the-secret-garden-on-top-of-a-railway-viaduct-in-leeds-city-centre-4041884 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |accessdate=18 October 2023}}</ref>

===Live music===
{{Main|Music in Leeds|List of bands originating in Leeds}}
Leeds is home to the refurbished [[Grand Theatre, Leeds|Grand Theatre]] where the only national opera company outside London, [[Opera North]], is based.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.operanorth.co.uk/news/a-tribute-to-the-earl-of-harewood-kbe |title=A tribute to The Earl of Harewood KBE |website=Opera North |access-date=25 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625185248/https://www.operanorth.co.uk/news/a-tribute-to-the-earl-of-harewood-kbe |archive-date=25 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Leeds City Varieties|City Varieties]] Music Hall is one of the UK's few remaining music halls, and famously hosted performances by [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Harry Houdini]]. It was also the venue of the BBC television programme ''[[The Good Old Days (UK TV series)|The Good Old Days]]''. The newest theatre, containing two auditoriums, is the [[Leeds Playhouse]], which had formerly been known as the West Yorkshire Playhouse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/page.aspx?pageidentifier=3B5842A8B7FDADC980256E200033B9E1 |title=Leeds Grand Theatre |publisher=Leeds City Council |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231100850/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Page.aspx?pageIdentifier=3B5842A8B7FDADC980256E200033B9E1 |archive-date=31 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityvarieties.co.uk/information.asp |title=City Varieties – About the Music Hall |publisher=City Varieties |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318153306/http://cityvarieties.co.uk/information.asp |archive-date=18 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wyp.org.uk/content/the_playhouse/about_us.asp |title=WYPlayhouse: About us |publisher=West Yorkshire Playhouse |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115224033/http://www.wyp.org.uk/content/the_playhouse/about_us.asp |archive-date=15 January 2010}}</ref> Just south of [[Leeds Bridge]] once stood [[The Theatre, Leeds|The Theatre]] which hosted [[Sarah Siddons]] and [[Ching Lau Lauro]] in 1786 and 1834, respectively.<ref name="Leodis" >[http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?pageno=&page=2003218_251720608&topic=2003219_253704250&subsection=2003625_449382961 Leodis, Discovering Leeds: The Theatre] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221084100/http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?pageno=&page=2003218_251720608&topic=2003219_253704250&subsection=2003625_449382961 |date=21 December 2013 }} Retrieved 17 December 2013</ref><ref name="Playbill 22 Sep 1834" >Playbill for Theatre, Leeds, Monday 22 September 1834. See [[:File:Ching Lau Lauro 1834.jpg]]</ref>

Leeds is also home to [[Phoenix Dance Theatre]], who were formed in the Harehills area of the city in 1981, and [[Northern Ballet Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/history.aspx |title=Northern Ballet Theatre : History |publisher=Northern Ballet Theatre |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723202242/http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/history.aspx |archive-date=23 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In autumn 2010 the two companies moved into a purpose-built dance centre which is the largest space for dance outside London. It is also the only space for dance to house a national classical and a national contemporary dance company alongside each another.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.building-momentum.co.uk |title=Building Momentum |publisher=Building Momentum |access-date=26 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507024232/http://www.building-momentum.co.uk/ |archive-date=7 May 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[First Direct Arena]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arenaleeds.com/ |title=Leeds Arena |publisher=Arenaleeds.com |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728054046/http://www.arenaleeds.com/ |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> opened in September 2013. The 13,500-seater stadium is rapidly becoming the city's number one venue for live music, indoor sports and many other events. Concerts are also held at the O2 Academy, Elland Road, which has hosted groups such as Queen and Kaiser Chiefs, among others and at the universities. [[Roundhay Park]] in north Leeds has seen some of the world's biggest artists including [[Michael Jackson]], [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], and [[Robbie Williams]].[[File:The Leeds First Direct Arena.jpg|thumb|The [[Leeds Arena]] building was named the "best new venue in the world" in 2014 by the Stadium Business Awards.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 June 2014 |title=Leeds Arena named best new venue in world |publisher=ITV |url=http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2014-06-05/leeds-arena-named-best-new-venue-in-world/ |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606222108/http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2014-06-05/leeds-arena-named-best-new-venue-in-world/ |archive-date=6 June 2014}}</ref>]]

[[File:Leeds Song Tunnel.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of "Leeds Song Tunne" public art celebrating the music of the city|Leeds Song Tunnel public art celebrating the music of the city]]
Popular musical acts originating from Leeds include [[Soft Cell]], [[Kaiser Chiefs]], [[the Pigeon Detectives]], [[the Wedding Present]], [[the Sunshine Underground]], [[the Sisters of Mercy]], [[Hadouken! (band)|Hadouken!]], [[Corinne Bailey Rae]], [[Dinosaur Pile-Up]], [[Yard Act]], [[Pulled Apart by Horses]], [[Gang of Four (band)|Gang of Four]], [[Hood (band)|Hood]], [[the Rhythm Sisters]], [[Utah Saints]], [[Alt-J]], and [[Melanie B]] of the [[Spice Girls]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stereosociety.com/taintedlove.html |title=The making of Soft Cell's Tainted Love |publisher=www.stereosociety.com |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421015305/http://stereosociety.com/taintedlove.html |archive-date=21 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/dec/09/games.theguide1 |title=Tim Jonze on the retro games renaissance |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=3 March 2010 |date=8 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104175709/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/dec/09/games.theguide1 |archive-date=4 November 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/articles/2005/04/14/kaiser_chiefs_interview.shtml |title=Kaiser Chiefs interview |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103010709/http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/articles/2005/04/14/kaiser_chiefs_interview.shtml |archive-date=3 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6803009/gang_of_four_return |title=Gang of Four Return |date=30 December 2004 |first=David |last=Chiu |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=12 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006041810/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6803009/gang_of_four_return |archive-date=6 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/6869/ |title=The Rhythm Sisters – biography, band news and reviews. (2967) |publisher=Leeds Music Scene |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625232856/http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/6869/ |archive-date=25 June 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melaniebrown.com/about-2/ |title=Biography " Melanie Brown |publisher=Melanie Brown |year=2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108124309/http://www.melaniebrown.com/about-2/ |archive-date=8 November 2009}}</ref> A public artwork by [[Adrian Riley]] called 'Leeds Song Tunnel' celebrates bands and musical artists who have their origins in Leeds.<ref>https://fr.adforum.com/academic/6671250/press-releases/71939/new-public-art-work-in-leeds-from-leeds-college-of-art-alumni</ref>

On [[Valentine's Day]] 1970, [[the Who]] performed and recorded their album ''[[Live at Leeds]]'' at the [[University of Leeds Refectory]]. Since its initial reception, ''Live at Leeds'' has been cited by several [[music journalism|music critics]] as the best live rock recording of all time.<ref name=cohn>{{cite news |last=Cohn |first=Nik |author-link=Nik Cohn |date=8 March 1970 |at=Rock Recordings section, p.&nbsp;M2 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/08/archives/finally-the-full-force-of-the-who.html |title=Finally, the Full Force of the Who |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225202953/http://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/08/archives/finally-the-full-force-of-the-who.html |archive-date=25 December 2017 |url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref name=carr>{{cite magazine |last=Carr |first=Roy |date=January 2011 |page=75 |url=http://archive.classicrockmagazine.com/view/january-2011/75/the-who |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130825084114/http://archive.classicrockmagazine.com/view/january-2011/75/the-who |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 August 2013 |title=The Who |magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="Hyden">{{cite web |last=Hyden |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Hyden |date=29 January 2003 |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/who-liveatleeds2/ |title=The Who: Live at Leeds |publisher=[[PopMatters]] |access-date=2 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123023928/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/who-liveatleeds2 |archive-date=23 January 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Pink Floyd]]'s popular second single "[[See Emily Play]]" was written in Leeds in 1967 after a gig in the old [[Leeds College of Technology|Leeds City College Technology Campus]], then known as Kitson College.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dla-design.co.uk/website-news/technology-campus-cookridge-street-leeds |title=TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS : COOKRIDGE STREET, LEEDS |website=www.dla-design.co.uk |access-date=27 November 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803041236/https://www.dla-design.co.uk/website-news/technology-campus-cookridge-street-leeds |url-status=dead}}</ref> Leeds is the only city outside of London to have its own [[repertory theatre]], ballet, and opera companies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Living in Leeds |url=https://www.getagent.co.uk/area/leeds/living-in-leeds |website=GetAgent |access-date=14 May 2021}}</ref>

===Nightlife===
Leeds is Purple Flag accredited to indicate an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-retains-prestigious-purple-flag-status-for-third-successive-year/ |title=Leeds retains prestigious Purple Flag status for third successive year |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530090158/https://news.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-retains-prestigious-purple-flag-status-for-third-successive-year/ |archive-date=30 May 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2019}}</ref> Leeds has the fourth largest student population in the country (over 200,000<ref>{{cite web |url=http://leedsliveitloveit.com/students/why-leeds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605224534/http://leedsliveitloveit.com/students/why-leeds |archive-date=5 June 2012 |title=What makes Leeds a great place to study? |work=leedsliveitloveit.com |access-date=12 March 2013}}</ref>), and is therefore one of the UK's hotspots for night-life. There are a large number of pubs, bars, nightclubs and restaurants, as well as a multitude of venues for live music. The full range of music tastes is catered for in Leeds. It includes the original home of the famous club nights Back 2 Basics, Speedqueen and [[Vague (club)|Vague]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds-city-guide.com/clubs.html |title=Clubbing & Nightlife In Leeds – Leeds Nightlife Guide – The Essential Guide to Nightlife, Clubbing and Nightclubs in Leeds. |website=www.leeds-city-guide.com |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709141608/http://www.leeds-city-guide.com/clubs.html |archive-date=9 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Morley was the location of [[techno]] club The Orbit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realtimeart.net/NN/notorious.html |title=UK Techno – Notorious North |publisher=www.realtimeart.net |access-date=17 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050327061027/http://www.realtimeart.net/NN/notorious.html |archive-date=27 March 2005}}</ref>

The [[F Club]] was club night that ran in Leeds between 1977 and 1982 and specialised in [[punk rock]] and [[post-punk]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |title=What the F....!! |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2007/09/26/music_f_club_feature.shtml |website=[[BBC]] |access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Issitt |first1=Micah |title=Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture |pages=xix}}</ref> It would prove highly influential to the development of the goth subculture, due to it leading to the formation of seminal gothic rock bands like [[The Sisters of Mercy]], [[The March Violets]], and [[Southern Death Cult]].<ref name="Evolution of Goth Culture">{{cite book |last1=Spracklen |first1=Karl |last2=Spracklen |first2=Beverley |title=The Evolution of Goth Culture: The Origins and Deeds of the New Goths |pages=46}}</ref> The now-defunct club [[Le Phonographique]] was located in the [[Merrion Centre, Leeds|Merrion Centre]] and was the first [[gothic subculture|gothic]] nightclub in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spracklen |first1=Karl |last2=Spracklen |first2=Beverley |title=The Evolution of Goth Culture: The Origins and Deeds of the New Goths |pages=49}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia Gothica">{{cite book |last1=Ladouceur |first1=Liisa |title=Encyclopedia Gothica}}</ref>

Leeds has a well established LGBT+ nightlife scene, predominantly located in the Freedom Quarter on Lower Briggate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.freedomquarter.com/lgbt |title=LGBT |website=Freedom Quarter |access-date=11 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304120951/https://www.freedomquarter.com/lgbt/ |archive-date=4 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[The New Penny]] is one of the UK's longest running LGBT+ venues, and Leeds oldest gay bar. Towards [[Millennium Square, Leeds|Millennium Square]] is a growing entertainment district providing for both students and weekend visitors. The square has many bars and restaurants and a large outdoor screen. Millennium Square is a venue for large seasonal events such as a [[Christmas market]], gigs and concerts, and citywide parties. It is adjacent to the Mandela Gardens, which were opened by [[Nelson Mandela]] in 2001. A number of public art features, fountains, and greenery can be found here. Yorkshire has a great history of real ale,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realalepubs.co.uk/area.asp?aid=3 |title=Yorkshire and Humberside |publisher=Real Ale Pubs |access-date=5 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410074039/http://www.realalepubs.co.uk/area.asp?aid=3 |archive-date=10 April 2012}}</ref> but several bars near the railway station are fusing traditional beers with a modern bar Leeds also hosts an annual Leeds International Beer Festival, held at [[Leeds Town Hall]] every September.

==Media==
Leeds has a diverse media landscape and is considered a media hub.<ref>{{cite web |date=6 February 2019 |title=How Channel 4's move has cemented Leeds as a key media and creative hub – Prolific North |url=https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/feature/how-channel-4s-move-has-cemented-leeds-key-media-and-creative-hub/ |access-date=2 January 2024 }}</ref> [[Yorkshire Post Newspapers]] Ltd, owned by [[Johnston Press]] plc, is based in the city, and produces a daily morning broadsheet, ''[[The Yorkshire Post]]'', and an evening paper, the ''[[Yorkshire Evening Post]]'' (YEP). The YEP has a website which includes a series of community pages which focus on specific areas of the city.<ref>{{cite news |title=Local pages |newspaper=Yorkshire Evening Post |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/custompages/CustomPage.aspx?pageID=71724 |access-date=28 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410071457/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/custompages/CustomPage.aspx?pageID=71724 |archive-date=10 April 2008}}</ref> The ''[[Wetherby News]]'' covers mainly areas within the north eastern sector of the district, and the ''[[Gazette & Observer|Wharfedale & Airedale Observer]]'', published in [[Ilkley]], covers the north-west, both appearing weekly. The two largest universities both have [[Student publication|student newspapers]], the weekly ''[[The Gryphon|Leeds Student]]'' from the University of Leeds and the monthly ''[[Leeds Beckett Students' Union|The Met]]'' from Leeds Beckett University. ''[[The Leeds Guide]]'' was a fortnightly listings magazine, which was established in 1997 and ceased publication in 2012. Free publications include the ''Leeds Weekly News'', produced by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in four geographic versions and distributed to households in the main urban area of the city,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-yorks/leeds-weekly-news/ |title=Leeds Weekly News |work=British Newspapers Online |access-date=29 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222190656/http://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-yorks/leeds-weekly-news/ |archive-date=22 February 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the regional version of ''[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]'', which is distributed on buses and at railway stations.[[File:BBC Yorkshire, Leeds - geograph.org.uk - 1026004.jpg|thumb|alt=A quirky modern five-storey building with a large sign saying "BBC Yorkshire" in black above the second-floor windows on the white-fronted façade of the lower four floors can be seen on the far side of a dual-carriageway road with a barrier along the central reservation. At right-angles to the right of the building is a tall blue slab with the letters "BBC" in white at the top. The left side of the building is mostly brick-red with a few windows, but above it is a light blue windowless section. The roof above this and the grey fifth floor of the frontage curves gently down to the rear. A lone car is driving from left to right along the road; between it and the building, temporary boards have been erected in front of a building to the left. In the top left-hand corner of the picture, part of a tall many-windowed building can be seen.|[[BBC Yorkshire]] studios]]
[[BBC]] Television and [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] both have regional studios and broadcasting centres in Leeds, while [[Channel 4]] opened a new headquarters at [[Majestic, Leeds|the Majestic]] in 2020.<ref name="wright-2021">{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Greg |date=4 May 2021 |title=Knights moves into famous Majestic building in Leeds alongside Channel 4 |work=[[The Yorkshire Post]] |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/knights-moves-into-famous-majestic-building-in-leeds-alongside-channel-4-3221169 |access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/oct/31/channel-4-chooses-second-headquarters |title=Channel 4 chooses Leeds as new national headquarters |last=Waterson |first=Jim |date=31 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=11 March 2019 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415114041/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/oct/31/channel-4-chooses-second-headquarters |archive-date=15 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[ITV Yorkshire]], formerly Yorkshire Television, broadcasts from [[the Leeds Studios]] on Kirkstall Road. There are a number of independent film production companies, including the not-for-profit cooperative Leeds Animation Workshop, founded in 1978; community video producers Vera Media and several small commercial production companies. [[BBC Radio Leeds]], [[Hits Radio West Yorkshire]], [[Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire]], [[Capital Yorkshire]], and [[Heart Yorkshire]] broadcast from the city. [[LSRfm.com]] is based in [[Leeds University Union]], and regularly hosts outside broadcasts around the city. Many communities within Leeds now have their own local radio stations, such as [[East Leeds FM]] and [[Tempo FM]] for [[Wetherby]] and the surrounding areas.

Leeds has a local television station called [[Leeds TV]] which is required to broadcast 37 hours a week of first-run local programming.<ref>[http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/ofcom-allows-six-local-tv-stations-cut-back-local-programming-news-and-current-affairs OFCOM allows six local TV stations to cut back on local programming, news and current affairs], Press Gazette, 8 October 2015</ref> The station had launched in 2014 as ''Made in Leeds'' which launched across the city in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Licensing Local Television – Statement |url=http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2013/02/ofcom-awards-leeds-local-tv-licence |publisher=Ofcom |accessdate=11 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430150031/http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2013/02/ofcom-awards-leeds-local-tv-licence/ |archive-date=30 April 2013}}</ref>

==Sport==
{{Main|Sport in Leeds}}
[[File:Elland_Road_Stadium_Leeds.jpg|thumb|left|[[Elland Road|Elland Road Stadium]]]]
The city has teams representing all the major national sports. [[Leeds United F.C.]] is the city's main [[Association football|football]] club, additional clubs include [[Guiseley AFC]], [[Farsley Celtic]], and [[Garforth Town]].
Leeds United was formed in 1919 and plays at the 37,890-capacity [[Elland Road]] Stadium in [[Beeston, Leeds|Beeston]]. The team rejoined the [[Premier League]], following a sixteen-year stint in lower divisions, after they won promotion by winning the [[EFL Championship]] in 2019–20, but in the [[2022–23 Premier League|Premier League Season of 2022–2023]] they got relegated to the Championship again. After winning the 2024-2025 Championship League, they have once again been promoted to the Premier League.

Guiseley was formed in 1909 and plays at the 4,000 capacity [[Nethermoor Park]] Stadium in [[Guiseley]]; the team plays in the [[Northern Premier League]]. [[Farsley Celtic]] was formed in 1908 and plays in the [[National League North]] and their stadium is [[Throstle Nest]].
[[Garforth Town]] was formed in 1964 and plays in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division; their stadium is Wheatley Park.

[[File:Leeds Rhinos vs. Salford Red Devils, Headingley Stadium (21st April 2014) 013.JPG|thumb|[[Headingley Stadium]], home of the Leeds Rhinos]]
[[Leeds Rhinos]] are the most successful [[rugby league]] team in Leeds. In 2009, they became first club to be [[Super League]] champions three seasons running, giving them their fourth Super League title.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/8290503.stm |title=St Helens 10–18 Leeds Rhinos |work=BBC News |date=10 October 2009 |access-date=4 April 2010}}</ref>
They play their home games at the [[Headingley Rugby Stadium]]. [[Hunslet R.L.F.C.|Hunslet]], based at the [[John Charles Centre for Sport]], play in the [[Championship (rugby league)|Co-Operative Championship One]]. [[East Leeds A.R.L.F.C.|East Leeds]] and [[Oulton Raiders]] play in the [[National Conference League]]. [[Bramley Buffaloes]] (previously [[Bramley RLFC|Bramley]]), and [[Leeds Akkies]] were members of the [[Rugby League Conference]].

[[Leeds Tykes]] were the foremost [[rugby union]] team in Leeds and they previously also played at Headingley. They play in [[National League 1]] having been relegated from [[RFU Championship]] at the end of the 2019–20 season. [[Otley RUFC]] are a rugby union club based to the north of the city and compete in [[National League 2 North]], whilst [[Morley RFC]], located in [[Morley, West Yorkshire|Morley]] currently play in [[National League 2 North|National Division Three North]].

[[Headingley Cricket Ground|Headingley Cricket Stadium]] is home to [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club]] which is the most successful [[cricket]] team in England, with 33 [[County Championship]] wins (including one shared). Their main rivals are [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]]. Leeds City Athletic Club competes in the [[British Athletics League]] and UK Women's League as well as the Northern Athletics League.

Leeds is home to a number of [[field hockey]] clubs that compete in the [[Men's England Hockey League]], the [[Women's England Hockey League]], the [[North Hockey Association|North Hockey League]], the [[Yorkshire Hockey Association|Yorkshire Hockey Association League]] and the [[British Universities and Colleges Sport|BUCS leagues]]. These include Leeds Hockey Club, [[Leeds Adel Hockey Club|Leeds Adel Carnegie Hockey Club]], the [[University of Leeds]] Hockey Club, and [[Leeds Beckett University]] Hockey Club.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedshockey.co.uk/ |title=Leeds Hockey Club |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219004810/http://www.leedshockey.co.uk/ |archive-date=19 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hockeyinleeds.co.uk |title=Leeds Adel Carnegie Hockey Club |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214030035/http://www.hockeyinleeds.co.uk/ |archive-date=14 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/page_noside.asp?section=2343&sectionTitle=Fixtures%2C+Results+%26+Standings |title=England Hockey Premier Division and Conference Fixtures |access-date=24 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104234021/http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/page_noside.asp?section=2343&sectionTitle=Fixtures,+Results+%26+Standings |archive-date=4 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

The City of Leeds [[Synchronised Swimming]] Club train at the [[John Charles Centre for Sport]] and are represented by swimmers throughout the whole of the North East. The club was founded in 2008 and only compete in National and International Competition.<ref>{{cite web |title=The City of Leeds Synchronised Swimming Club |url=http://www.synchroleeds.org |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722073611/http://synchroleeds.org/ |archive-date=22 July 2013 |access-date=15 March 2014 |publisher=Synchroleeds.org}}</ref>

[[File:Carnegie Pavilion, Headingley Stadium, Leeds during the second day of the England- Sri Lanka test (21st April 2014) 001.JPG|thumb|right|Carnegie Pavilion at [[Headingley Stadium]]]]The city has a wealth of sports facilities including the [[Elland Road]] football stadium, a host stadium during the [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996 European Football Championship]]; the [[Headingley Stadium|Headingley Carnegie Stadiums]], adjacent stadia world-famous for both [[cricket]] and [[rugby league]] and the [[John Charles Centre for Sport]] with an [[List of long course swimming pools in the United Kingdom|Olympic-sized pool]] in its Aquatics Centre<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/page.aspx?pageidentifier=92E3BE57BD5C06CD80256E1A00424F70#swim |title=Leeds City Council – John Charles Centre for Sport – Swim |access-date=30 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611053528/http://www.leeds.gov.uk/page.aspx?pageidentifier=92E3BE57BD5C06CD80256E1A00424F70 |archive-date=11 June 2009}}</ref> and includes a multi-use stadium. Other facilities include the Leeds Wall (climbing) and [[Yeadon Tarn]] sailing centre. In 1929 the first Ryder Cup of Golf to be held on British soil was competed for at [[Moortown Golf Club]] in Alwoodley, and Wetherby has a [[National Hunt racing|National Hunt]] [[Wetherby Racecourse|racecourse]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wetherbyracing.co.uk/ |title=Wetherby Racing – Horseracing, Hospitality, Conference Venue, Yorkshire |publisher=www.wetherbyracing.co.uk |access-date=30 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001052641/http://www.wetherbyracing.co.uk/ |archive-date=1 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the period 1928 to 1939 speedway racing was staged in Leeds on a track at the greyhound stadium known as Fullerton Park, adjacent to Elland Road. The track entered a team in the 1931 Northern league.

The [[2014 Tour de France]] Grand Départ took place from the Headrow in Leeds city centre on 5 July 2014. Leeds is well known for its divers and features some of the best diving facilities in the UK. ''City of Leeds Diving Club'', who train at the [[John Charles Centre for Sport]], has trained many athletes who have competed at international and [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] level, with [[Jack Laugher]] and [[Chris Mears (diver)|Chris Mears]] making history by becoming the first ever divers from Great Britain to win an Olympic gold medal, a feat they accomplished at the [[2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Rio Olympics]]. Leeds has an [[ice hockey]] team, the [[Leeds Knights]] (formerly named Leeds Chiefs); they play at the Planet Ice Arena in [[Beeston, Leeds]], in the [[National Ice Hockey League]].

Leeds has a well-established climbing and mountaineering scene. The [[Yorkshire Ramblers' Club|Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club]], England’s second oldest mountaineering club, was founded in Headingley in 1892, and the city is also home to a number of other climbing clubs and venues.  The UK’s first artificial [[climbing wall]] for training and developing technique was established at the University of Leeds in 1964.<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=John |title=The Indoor Climbing Manual |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |isbn=978-1-4081-8662-6 |location=London}}</ref> Leeds has hosted the [[British Mountaineering Council|BMC’s]] British Bouldering Championships,<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Boulder Championships heads to Last Sun Dance, Leeds - The British Mountaineering Council |url=https://thebmc.co.uk/en/british-boulder-championships-heads-to-last-sun-dance-leeds |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=thebmc.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> and the Youth Climbing Series Grand Final.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Youth Climbing Series Grand Final to be Hosted in Leeds – The British Mountaineering Council |url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en/youth-climbing-series-grand-final-to-be-hosted-in-leeds |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=www.thebmc.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

===Teams===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" |Club
! scope="col" |Sport
! scope="col" |League
! scope="col" |Venue
! scope="col" |Location
! scope="col" |Formed
! scope="col" |Top flight championships
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Yorkshire CCC]]
|[[Cricket]]
|[[County Championship]]
|[[Headingley Stadium]]
|[[Headingley]]
|1863
|33
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Leeds Rhinos]]
|[[Rugby league]]
|[[Super League]]
|Headingley Stadium
|Headingley
|1870
|11
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]
|[[Association football|Football]]
|[[EFL Championship]]
|[[Elland Road]] Stadium
|[[Beeston, Leeds|Beeston]]
|1919
|3
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Hunslet R.L.F.C.|Hunslet]]
|Rugby league
|[[League 1 (rugby league)|League 1]]
|[[John Charles Centre for Sport]]
|[[Hunslet]]
|1883
|2
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Guiseley A.F.C.|Guiseley]]
|Football
|[[Northern Premier League]]
|[[Nethermoor Park]]
|[[Guiseley]]
|1909
|0
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Farsley Celtic F.C.|Farsley Celtic]]
|Football
|National League North
|[[Throstle Nest]] Stadium
|[[Farsley]]
|1908
|0
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" |[[Leeds Knights]]
|[[Ice hockey]]
|[[National Ice Hockey League]]
|Planet Ice Leeds
|Beeston
|2019
|0
|}

==Religion==
{{see also|List of places of worship in the City of Leeds}}
[[File:Leeds Parish Church.jpg|thumb|[[Leeds Minster]] has been designated a [[Grade I]] [[listed building]] by [[Historic England]].]]{{Pie chart|caption=Religion in Leeds (2021)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E08000035/ | title=How life has changed in Leeds: Census 2021 }}</ref>|label1=Christianity|label2=No religion|label3=Islam|label4=Sikhism|label5=Hinduism|label6=Judaism|label7=Buddhism|label8=Other religion|label9=Not stated|value1=42.3|value2=40.2|value3=7.8|value4=1.2|value5=1.1|value6=0.8|value7=0.4|value8=0.4|value9=5.8|color1=Red|color2=DarkOrange|color3=Green|color4=DarkKhaki|color5=Yellow|color6=Purple|color7=Blue|color8=White|color9=Grey}}
The majority of people in Leeds identify themselves as [[Christians]].<ref name="Census Data"/> Leeds does not have a [[Church of England]] cathedral: although it is in the [[Anglican]] [[Anglican Diocese of Leeds|Diocese of Leeds]] (formerly in the [[Diocese of Ripon and Leeds]]), headed by the [[Anglican Bishop of Leeds|Bishop of Leeds]], the diocese has cathedrals in [[Bradford Cathedral|Bradford]], [[Ripon Cathedral|Ripon]], and [[Wakefield Cathedral|Wakefield]] (although the [[Bishop of Ripon and Leeds|Bishop]]'s residence has been in Leeds since 2008). The most important Anglican church is [[Leeds Minster]], although [[St George's Church, Leeds|St. George's]] has the largest congregation by far.

Leeds has a Roman Catholic [[Leeds Cathedral|Cathedral]], the [[Bishop|episcopal]] seat of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds]]. Many other Christian denominations and new religious movements are established in Leeds, including [[Assemblies of God]], [[Baptists Together|Baptist]], [[Church of Christ, Scientist|Christian Scientist]], [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], [[Community of Christ]], [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Jesus Army]], [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], [[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodist]], [[Moravian Church|Moravian]], [[Church of the Nazarene|Nazarene]], [[Newfrontiers]], [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]], [[The Salvation Army|Salvation Army]], [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]], [[Religious Society of Friends|Society of Friends ("Quakers")]], [[General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches|Unitarian]], [[United Reformed Church|United Reformed]], [[Association of Vineyard Churches|Vineyard]], an ecumenical Chinese church, [[Living Faith Church Worldwide|Winners' Chapel]], and several independent churches.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/chaplaincy/events/worship/churches1.php |author=Universities chaplaincy in Leeds |title=Student Guide to Churches in Leeds |access-date=6 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212114104/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/chaplaincy/events/worship/churches1.php |archive-date=12 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |work=Yahoo |title=Churches in Leeds |url=http://uk.local.yahoo.com/West_Yorkshire/Leeds/Churches/uk100006150-s-26042.html |access-date=7 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827180402/http://uk.local.yahoo.com/West_Yorkshire/Leeds/Churches/uk100006150-s-26042.html |archive-date=27 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:HarehillsMosqueDome.jpg|thumb|right|Harehills Mosque]]
The proportion of [[Muslim]]s in Leeds is slightly above average for the country (5.4% as of 2011).<ref name="Census Data"/>{{Fix|text=Needs update}} [[Mosque]]s can be found throughout the city, serving Muslim communities in [[Chapeltown, Leeds|Chapeltown]], [[Harehills]], [[Hyde Park, Leeds|Hyde Park]] and parts of [[Beeston, Leeds|Beeston]]. The largest mosque is [[Leeds Grand Mosque]] in Hyde Park.

The [[Sikhism|Sikh]] community is represented by [[gurdwara]]s (temples) spread across the city, the largest being in [[Chapeltown, Leeds|Chapeltown]]. There is also a colourful religious annual procession, called the Nagar Kirtan, into [[Millennium Square, Leeds|Millennium Square]] in the city centre on 13–14 April to celebrate [[Vaisakhi]]—the Sikh New Year and the birth of the religion. It is estimated that around 3,000 Sikhs in Leeds take part in this annual event.

Leeds's [[Jewish]] community is the third-largest in the United Kingdom, after London and Greater Manchester.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsjewishcommunity.com/jewish-community.html |title=Welcome – Leeds Jewish Community |via=www.leedsjewishcommunity.com |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808230637/http://www.leedsjewishcommunity.com/jewish-community.html |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/261454/fighting-for-the-future-in-leeds |title=Fighting for a Jewish Future in Leeds |date=9 May 2018 |website=Tablet Magazine |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808230638/https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/261454/fighting-for-the-future-in-leeds |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The areas of [[Alwoodley]] and [[Moortown, West Yorkshire|Moortown]] contain sizeable Jewish populations.<ref name="Freedman"/> There are eight active synagogues in Leeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Leeds.htm |title=JCR-UK – Leeds Jewish Community and Synagogues |publisher=Jewishgen.org |access-date=14 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927055459/http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Leeds.htm |archive-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Hinduism|Hindu]] community in Leeds has a [[Hindu temple|temple]] (mandir) at [[Hyde Park, Leeds|Hyde Park]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsmandir.org.uk |title=Leeds Hindu Mandir – Welcome |publisher=Leedsmandir.org.uk |access-date=22 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415025559/http://leedsmandir.org.uk/ |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> The temple has all the major Hindu deities and is dedicated to the Lord [[Mahavira]] of the [[Jainism|Jains]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yjf.org.uk |title=Home |publisher=Yjf.org.uk |access-date=14 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605234140/http://www.yjf.org.uk/ |archive-date=5 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Various [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] traditions are represented in Leeds,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.communigate.co.uk/brad/leedsbuddhistgroup/page2.phtml |title=Buddhist organisations in: Leeds/Bradford areas P2 |publisher=Communigate.co.uk |access-date=14 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010191407/http://www.communigate.co.uk/brad/leedsbuddhistgroup/page2.phtml |archive-date=10 October 2008}}</ref> including: [[Soka Gakkai]], [[Theravada]], [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan]], [[Triratna Buddhist Community]], and [[Zen]]. The Buddhist community ([[Sangha (Buddhism)|sangha]]) comes together to celebrate the major festival of [[Vesak|Wesak]] in May. There is also a community of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] in Leeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bahai.org.uk/leeds/index.htm |title=Leeds |work=Bahai Community of the UK |access-date=14 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829103813/http://www.bahai.org.uk/leeds/index.htm |archive-date=29 August 2008}}</ref>

==Public services==
Water supply and [[sewerage]] services in Leeds are provided by [[Yorkshire Water]], part of the [[Kelda Group]]. Prior to 1973 water and sewerage services had been provided by the Leeds Corporation. Leeds City Council has a target of 11MW of renewable energy from onshore wind by 2010 and an aspirational target of 75MW by 2020. There are currently no operational wind farms in Leeds, but a planning application by [[Banks Group|Banks Renewables Ltd]] for five turbines at Hook Moor, near [[Micklefield]], was approved in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plans for Leeds's first wind farm approved |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-16116701 |access-date=2 September 2012 |newspaper=BBC News|date=9 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114130351/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-16116701 |archive-date=14 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The area is policed by the [[West Yorkshire Police]]. The force has five policing districts covering the West Yorkshire area, one of which covers Leeds. The Leeds District Headquarters is located at Elland Road in the south of the city. In the north-west of the city the main stations are [[Weetwood]] and Woodhouse Lane; in the north-east, the main stations are Stainbeck near [[Chapel Allerton]] and [[Killingbeck]]; in the south the main stations are Leeds Central, located on Park Street in the city centre, and the District Headquarters itself. Fire and rescue services are provided by the [[West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service]]. The fire stations in Leeds are: [[Cookridge]], [[Gipton]], [[Hunslet]], [[Swarcliffe|Stanks]], [[Moortown, Leeds|Moortown]], [[Stanningley]], and the "Leeds" fire station (near the city centre, on Kirkstall Road).[[File:Leeds Central Library (16681977176).jpg|thumb|[[Leeds Central Library]]]]NHS health services are provided by the [[Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust]], Leeds Primary Care Trust,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedspct.nhs.uk/ |title=The Leeds PCT – Welcome to the Leeds PCT |publisher=Leedspct.nhs.uk |access-date=14 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218064522/http://www.leedspct.nhs.uk/ |archive-date=18 December 2008}}</ref> and Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedspft.nhs.uk/home |title=Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust &#124; Home |year=2012 |access-date=3 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330185257/http://www.leedspft.nhs.uk/home |archive-date=30 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leedsmentalhealth.nhs.uk/ |title=Leeds Mental Health – Teaching NHS Trust |publisher=Leedsmentalhealth.nhs.uk |access-date=14 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014074304/http://www.leedsmentalhealth.nhs.uk/ |archive-date=14 October 2008}}</ref> which provides mental health services. [[Leeds General Infirmary]] ("LGI") is a [[listed building]] with more recent additions and is in the city centre. [[St James's University Hospital]], known locally as "Jimmy's",<ref name="St James' Hospital">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204152805/http://www.leedsteachinghospitals.com/patients/aboutus/hospitals/st_james.php In the background section of page], additional text.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nosuch-research.co.uk/pdfs/PaperJimmys.pdf |title="Jimmy's": the rise of the docusoap and the fall of YTV |last=Gray |first=Nick |work="No Such" Research |date=31 January 2010 |access-date=17 June 2010 |quote=What is "Jimmy's"? It's the local nickname of a hospital in Leeds, actually called St. James's University Hospital ... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308062725/http://www.nosuch-research.co.uk/pdfs/PaperJimmys.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2012 |url-status=dead}} (paper by Deviser/Producer/Director of TV series)</ref> is to the north east of the city centre and is the largest teaching hospital in Europe. Other NHS hospitals are [[Chapel Allerton Hospital]], [[Seacroft Hospital]], [[Wharfedale Hospital]] in Otley, and [[Leeds Dental Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.nhs.uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010220190031/http://www.leeds.nhs.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 February 2001 |title=Welcome to NHS Leeds |publisher=Leeds.nhs.uk |access-date=21 January 2010}}</ref>

[[West Yorkshire Joint Services]] provides analytical, archaeological, archives, ecology, materials testing, and trading standards services in Leeds and the other four districts of West Yorkshire. It was created following the abolition of the county council in 1986 and expanded in 1997, and is funded by the five district councils, pro rata to their population. The Leeds site of the archives service is in the former public library at [[Sheepscar]], Leeds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wyjs.org.uk/ |title=West Yorkshire Joint Services |access-date=28 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411042221/http://www.wyjs.org.uk/ |archive-date=11 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Leeds City Council]] is responsible for over 50 public libraries across the whole city, including 5 mobile libraries. The main [[Leeds Central Library|Central Library]] is located on the [[The Headrow|Headrow]], in the city centre.

==Freedom of the City==
The following people, military units and organisations and groups have received the [[Freedom of the City]] of Leeds.

===Individuals===
*[[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig]]: 23 January 1920.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/earl-haig-in-leeds-aka-earl-haig-receives-freedom/query/douglas+haig |title=Earl Haig In Leeds AKA Earl Haig Receives Freedom Of The City |work= British Pathé|access-date=3 May 2015}}</ref>
*[[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] [[David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty]]: 18 October 1922.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X4gTAAAAIBAJ&pg=2579,1869040 |title=The Age – Google News Archive Search |website=news.google.com}}</ref>
*[[David Lloyd George]]: 21 October 1922.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vZpAAAAAIBAJ&pg=4191,6302213 |title=The Glasgow Herald – Google News Archive Search |website=news.google.com}}</ref>
*[[Honours of Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax]]: 5 March 1923.<ref name="A History of Modern Leeds">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Da8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA433 |title=A History of Modern Leeds |isbn=9780719007811 |last1=Fraser |first1=Derek |year=1980|publisher=Manchester University Press }}</ref>
*[[Stanley Baldwin]]: 13 March 1925.
*[[H. H. Asquith]]: 13 March 1925.
*[[Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baron Moynihan]]: 6 October 1926.
*[[William Middlebrook|Sir William Middlebrook]]: 6 October 1926.
*[[Edward Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton|Sir Edward Brotherton]]: 6 October 1926.<ref name="A History of Modern Leeds"/>
*[[Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden]]: 11 September 1930.
*[[Arthur Greenwood]]: 11 September 1930.<ref name="A History of Modern Leeds"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KFsvAAAAIBAJ&pg=2742,6234478 |title=Ottawa Citizen – Google News Archive Search |website=news.google.com}}</ref>
*[[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood]]: 7 July 1932.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/07/07/archives/leeds-makes-princess-mary-first-freewoman-of-the-city.html |title=Leeds Makes Princess Mary First Freewoman of the City |work=The New York Times |date=7 July 1932}}</ref>
*[[H. V. Evatt]]: 7 July 1943.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FO0TAAAAIBAJ&pg=4853,244585 |title=The Age – Google News Archive Search |website=news.google.com}}</ref>
*[[Winston Churchill|Sir Winston Churchill]]: 28 October 1958.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/10/28/archives/stalin-use-blue-pencil-churchill-tells-anecdote-of-fountain-pen.html |title=Churchill Tells Anecdote of Fountain Pen Gift |work=The New York Times |date=28 October 1953}}</ref>
*[[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] [[James Milner, 1st Baron Milner of Leeds]]: 1967.
*[[Nelson Mandela]]: 30 April 2001.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1304277.stm |title=Mandela honoured in Leeds |work=BBC News |date=30 April 2001}}</ref>
*[[Fanny Waterman|Dame Fanny Waterman]]: April 2004.
*[[Jane Tomlinson]] : 20 May 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/4563657.stm |title=Heroine Jane made freeman of city |work=BBC News |date=20 May 2005}}</ref>
*[[Alan Bennett]]: 12 March 2006.
*[[Jimi Heselden|James Heselden]]: 26 January 2011.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Baron |url=https://www.theguardian.com/leeds/2010/dec/13/jimi-heselden-frredom-of-city-leeds |title=Leeds set to pay tribute to city charity stalwart Jimi Heselden |work=The Guardian}}</ref> (Awarded posthumously)
*[[Beryl Burton]]: 12 September 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/beryl-burton-granted-freedom-city-leeds-136088 |title=Beryl Burton granted Freedom of the City of Leeds |work=Cycling Weekly |date=12 September 2014}}</ref> (Awarded posthumously)
*[[Rob Burrow]]: 20 December 2022<ref name=BBCnews>{{cite news |title=Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield given freedom of Leeds honour |work=BBC News |date=20 December 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-64042920 |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref>
*[[Kevin Sinfield]]: 20 December 2022<ref name=BBCnews />

===Military units===
*[[HMS Ark Royal (91)|HMS Ark Royal]], [[Royal Navy|RN]]: 4 November 1941.<ref>{{cite web |title=HMS Ark Royal – RNA Leeds No1 Headingley |url=https://www.rnaleeds.co.uk/affiliates/hms-ark-royal/ |access-date=15 March 2021 }}</ref>
*[[RAF Church Fenton]]: 1971.
*[[HMS Ark Royal (R09)|HMS Ark Royal]], [[Royal Navy|RN]]: 25 October 1973.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Visit, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother |url=https://www.leodis.net/ViewImage/ByIndicator/2002410_34681338 |website=Leodis |access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FREEDOM OF CITY FOR ARK ROYAL |website=[[YouTube]] |date=21 July 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217045915/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKY6b3mWqY&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=17 December 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKY6b3mWqY |access-date=8 December 2020}}</ref>
*5th Battalion [[The Rifles]]: 1 August 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.leeds.gov.uk/freedom-of-city-for-the-rifles-regiment/ |title=Freedom of City for The Rifles Regiment |publisher=News.leeds.gov.uk |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831232303/https://news.leeds.gov.uk/freedom-of-city-for-the-rifles-regiment/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment|4th Battalion]] The [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]]: 9 December 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Parachute Regiment to be given freedom of city |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/18926611.parachute-regiment-given-freedom-city/ |access-date=17 May 2021 |website=Bradford Telegraph and Argus |date=7 December 2020 }}</ref>
*[[Leeds Rifles]]
*[[Leeds Pals]]
*[[51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot]]

*[[Leeds Volunteer Corps]] a volunteer regiment of the [[British Volunteer Corps]] during the Napoleonic Wars.

===Organisations and Groups===
*[[Leeds United FC|Leeds United FC 1967–74]]: 4 December 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/25892/don-revie-s-leeds-united-recognised-with-city-s-highest-civic-honour |title=Don Revie's Leeds United Recognised With City's Highest Civic Honour |work=Leeds United |date=4 December 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Main|Outline of Leeds}}
*[[List of people from Leeds]]

==Notes and references==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{notelist}}

{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |title=The Illustrated History of Leeds |last1=Burt |first1=S. |last2=Grady |first2=K. |publisher=Breedon Books |year=1994 |isbn=9781873626351}}
*{{cite book |title=A History of Modern Leeds |first=Derek |last=Fraser |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-7190-0781-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Unsworth and Stillwell |year=2004 |title=Twenty-First Century Leeds: Geographies of a Regional City |publisher=Leeds University Press |location=Leeds |isbn=0-85316-242-5}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{Wikivoyage|Leeds}}
*[http://www.leeds.gov.uk/ Leeds City Council]

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