Welcome to Leeds, a city which has seen plenty of investment over the last decade and over the next decade is almost expected to double in size. But as a conference and meetings destination, it might not be so obvious, there isn't one join normers venue through which all events must pass. There is an eclectic and diverse mix from arenas and academic venues and of course somewhere like this the Royal Armoury's Museum. We're better then to start our tour of the city and who better to introduce us to the Leeds event scene. Claire Heath is the city's visitor economy manager. So Claire tell us about the proposition of conferencing in the city. Leeds has had a fantastic conferencing proposition to organisers. We're located in the epicenter of the north of England. A fantastic location where delegates can get to us from all our full parts of the country. So every time I come to Leeds you know something looks different, tell me about the transformation of the city. The transformation of the last ten years has been amazing, truly fantastic. We're seeing expansion of the city centre down onto the south bank which will hopefully double the size of the city centre of the years to come. We've got a channel for at best in the city, not Bank of England, are looking at locating here so there's lots of exciting things happening. So what's the role of conference Leeds? How are you going to help organisers? What do you offer? Conference Leeds we're here to help organisers bring their events to Leeds. The team have an immense amount of expertise and knowledge about the city. We work totally and passionately and we're here to help every step of the way. The Royal Armoury's Museum displays the national collection of arms and armour and conference organisers can draw their swords here too. So Ben tell us what sort of events do you run here? We run a mixture of all sorts so we've got conferences, banketing, exhibitions and meetings so complete mixture. We've got the largest conference and events venue in Leeds holding up to 1200 delegates and we're really now starting to focus on the exhibition market and association business. So what is it about Leeds? What draws event organisers to the city in the first place? Leeds is a great vibrant city with a great night life, great accommodation, easy transport links and some fantastic venues within the city as well. Now as any good conference and meetings destination will tell you it's important to embrace the legacy of the past to ensure the legacy of the future and in matters of technology, scientific innovation and human pioneering spirit Leeds has made a contribution itself. In fact I've got a list. Did you know the Oxygen was discovered by the Leeds-born philosopher Joseph Priestley in 1773, no less in which he also invented carbonated water at the same time? Then in 1909 William Bragg, a physicist at the University of Leeds first demonstrated the world's first X-rays. As you know, when conference news comes to explore a destination we like to attend a real event happening in real life to really get a sense of what the event experience is like and today of course is no exception. Everything right here today in the city is CHS, the conference and hospitality show, half of which is happening in the Royal Armories behind me and the other half in Udoch. Emma Carmel, the show CEO, took time out to tell us more. CHS Leeds is an exhibition for the events industry. So we have hotels and venues and events supplies from all over the UK exhibiting with us today over two separate halls. Leeds is such a vibrant city in itself and the events industry here is thriving. We've got some amazing hotels, amazing venues and suppliers and as a city itself it really works collaboratively. It's a small city so you can get around it really easily and everyone just really supports us and contributes to the event so it's just it's our home so we love it here. I think Leeds isn't kind of known for its nightlife as well so last night we had our welcome reception at Queen's Hotel that's just had a £16 million refurbishment but beyond there there's bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotel bars, it's just a great city. Local knowledge is a valuable thing and there are few with more local know-how than Wendy Aston Evans of Pineapple events. She gives us a flavour of what all the organizers want. So Wendy why do you think Leeds is such a popular destination for your clients? Well everybody loves Yorkshire don't they? I think Leeds is not only the best city in Yorkshire but I've seen already somewhere today that it's the epicentre of the north but the main thing is the transport links for events coming in. It's got to be the trains. What then are your clients looking for what makes a magic conference experience? It's got to be a venue I would say and look at the range of venues in Leeds you know from where we're sitting in a cultural royal armory's national museum to some really good hotels. You know the investment's going into the hotels. The way it's condensed into the centre of the city I think is a major plus if you're organising a national event you know people coming from all over. So let's hear from an organiser. Helen Whittall is the chair of Communication Matters and a conference ambassador for both Leeds and the University of Leeds. So the Communication Matters Conference is for all our members. It takes place at the University of Leeds every September and we have representatives from suppliers organisations who supply quite technical, computerised and low tech communication systems for people with complex disabilities. We have lots of members who use augmentative and alternative communication which helps them to communicate when speech isn't possible for them. So we have members who use wheelchairs and electronic communication aids who come and enjoy the conference alongside their professional support who might be speech therapists, clinical scientists and also researchers alongside family members and personal assistants who help them to enjoy the conference. I think because we've been here for quite a few years now people are familiar with the idea of coming to Leeds. They're familiar with the University of Leeds campus and the numbers of accessible rooms for people with significant disabilities which is great for our members to know that they can come and be comfortable and also the University of Leeds meeting Leeds team has been able to consult with our members and get advice about what makes it work for them. So what supports they need and even down to what food is going to work best for them in a conference organisation. They look coming back to Leeds and they've really enjoyed the fact that a lot of the staff at the University of Leeds have taken part in the communication access UK training. So their communication aware, very able to talk to individuals with communication impairments in a respectful manner and just ask them what they want and be really responsive to their needs. So what have we learned today? Well we've learned that Leeds is a city with big ideas and big ambitions and actually they shouldn't be surprising at all. Channel 4 has recently relocated here the Bank of England are thinking about setting up an office too as well as the National Infrastructure Bank. The BBC are even talking about hundreds of jobs being relocated to the city as well as new hotels popping up all over the place and a cultural event happening 2023 which really will bring events right to the heart of the city and its people. Leeds then is a destination on the move.