This year marks the sixth edition of the Leeds International Festival of Ideas (LIFI), and with over 6000 tickets sold, it is their most successful edition yet.
The ever-growing five-day festival returns to Leeds Playhouse for the fourth year in a row, and consists of a mix of expert panels, celebrity speakers and crowd questionnaires.
Chief executive of organisers LeedsBID Andrew Cooper said; “we sold over 96% of our total tickets, the city is starting to own LIFI.”
‘What a start!’
The opening event of the Festival of Ideas is a fireside chat with documentary maker and journalist Louis Theroux, called ‘Inside the Louisphere’. The title is taken after his hit documentary ‘Inside the manosphere’ came out on Netflix in March of this year. Leeds International Festival of Ideas director Martin Dickson said; “when we put the programme live on the fourth of June, he sold out in six minutes, we knew it would be quick but that is the quickest.”
“Louis is everything you expect, really polished, really successful, very easy to deal with” said festival director Dickson.
In addition to Theroux, there is a total of 12 events happening with more than 40 speakers, from today until the festival ends on Saturday the 10th of October.
Source: Steven Fuchs | All Rights ReservedLIFI tackles some of society’s more pressing themes, with this year’s topics including suicide, climate change and social media, as well as a new part of the Festival specifically aimed at young people called LIFI Futures, discussing employment opportunities in today’s world.
One new addition to the festival this year is the introduction of LIFI Futures, a series of four events put on specifically aimed at school, college and university students. The topics covered in these events include the usage of social media in youths, as well as employment and the option of an apprenticeship. Festival Director Dickson discussed how LIFI Futures came about; “This festival is very much shouting about Leeds being an exciting and bold place, but we also want it to be a festival for everyone in Leeds, that includes young people.”
LeedsBID employee Sophie Jones works in account management, but during the Leeds International Festival of Ideas, she works backstage in artist liason. When asked to describe what the festival is all about she said; “LIFI is here to share ideas, in essence it is to share ideas and to talk about the things that are most pressing in today’s society.”