On Friday 24th October, the Lord Mayor of Leeds put on her skates to commemorate the opening of the Leeds Christmas market. She took to the ice rink in celebration as the market opened it’s doors to the public for the first time in four years.
She will be opening the market in order to raise money for her chosen charity, the Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service and said that “I’m hoping that by going on the ice people will come and take a photograph with me and make a donation to the charity.”
Covid-19 saw the closure of the markets back in 2019 and logistical costs delayed its reopening another couple of years.
This year the council have worked hard to ensure the reopening of the popular seasonal event, and are working alongside Market Place Europe to “expand and improve” the market every year at least until 2025.
It is expected to bring in up to two million visitors between now and Christmas with there being 120 market stalls spread across central Leeds. Stallholders are confident that this year will be good for business.
Curtis Eddy is the Company Director of Young Catering and is bringing some of his stalls to Leeds for the third year. He said that, “now it’s advertised online that the Christmas market is finally back on it will fetch a lot more people down.”
The ice rink is one of the most popular events at the market and brings in a lot of money year after year. Beth Butler is the ice rink manager and said that, “it’s going to be great and I’m really excited for it to be back.”
Overall, people seem very excited about the reopening of the Christmas market and are excited for this year to be the beginning of the festivities getting bigger and better each year.
