The schedule for Breeze International Youth Festival is as follows:
- Monday 16th – Friday 20th June – Taster sessions run in schools
- Sunday 22nd – Friday 27th June – Leeds hosts its international guests
- Friday 27th – Monday 30th June – Celebration weekend in Leeds City Centre
- Monday 30th June – Friday 4th July – BIYF takes part in the national Shine Festival and Reach Out Radio project
Amongst the activities on offer over the weekend are workshops everything from sound technology and DJing, to martial arts and jousting, as well as guided tours, film screenings and live shows.
On the Friday evening, internationally renowned writer, Frank Cottrell Boyce (24 Hour Party People author and Coronation Street scriptwriter), will be visiting Waterstones to give writing tips and discuss his new book, Cosmic.
On Saturday, alongside the workshops, BIYF will be offering shoppers some entertainment through live musical performances on Briggate and in the Victoria Quarter.
Sunday is sports day, as BIYF takes over the BBC big screen for live video gaming competitions and Millennium Square is turned into a sports arena with a traveling gym, dance mats and demonstrations in such sports as kabbadi and touch rugby. A huge map of the world will be drawn on Victoria Gardens and everyone is invited to pop along and draw themselves on it in chalk as BIYF creates its very own piece of art about who we are in Leeds.
BIYF is also proud of its links with many other schools across the world. Each year, international students are invited over to Leeds to take part in the festival. International students are paired up with students from Leeds schools so that they may share their thoughts and ideas and learn about eachothers lives and cultures. This year, students will be visiting from as far afield as Pakistan, China, Romania and Namibia.
BIYF will also be supporting the Shine festival: the national schools festival that celebrates and showcases the talents of all young people.
Activities throughout the BIYF Celebration Weekend are open to all breezecard holders. breezecards are available free of charge to everyone in Leeds aged under 19. Anyone who does not already have a breezecard and would like one, can obtain one by visiting the Breeze website
All workshops on offer during the Celebration Weekend are completely free of charge to breezecard holders, although some performances and workshops require prior booking. On the Saturday and Sunday of the Celebration Weekend, BIYF has also arranged for all breezecard holders to have free entry to all Leeds museums, 50p swims at Leeds leisure centre and discounts at many Leeds shops and activity centres.
Breeze has talent
Do you know someone under 19 who can sing, dance, rap, play in a band, tell jokes or do impressions? If so they can enter the very first Breeze has talent auditions on Saturday 28 June at the Carriageworks Theatre, Millennium Square, Leeds. Successful acts will then compete at the Breeze has Talent semi finals taking place throughout the summer at this year's main Breeze on Tour event. The Breeze has Talent finals will take place in October where there will be fantastic prizes for our finalists. For more information or to register your audition contact 0113 276 0837 or email robert.march@leeds.gov.uk. Find out more at Breeze on Tour