Millennium Square is set to take audiences on a journey down memory lane this summer as the outdoor venue gets ready to host two unmissable tribute headline shows as part of the annual Summer Series this August.

On 1 August, Legend: The Music of Bob Marley will take audiences on a mesmerising journey through the iconic sounds of the reggae legend. Direct from the West End, the two-hour spectacular tribute brings to life the timeless hits of Bob Marley, including “Could You Be Loved“, “Is This Love“, and “No Woman No Cry“, amongst a myriad of reggae classics.

Sold-out year on year in venues across the UK, Hacienda Classical spearheaded by Tim Crooks, will feature Leeds’s very own Orchestra of Opera North for the first time. Together, they will deliver a non-stop set of Club Classics, reimagined and brought to life by the 40-piece symphony orchestra, alongside special guest artists soon to be revealed.

FAC51 The Hacienda have announced a major outdoor show at Millennium Square, Leeds on Friday 19 July 2024 as part of the venue’s annual Summer Series and the renowned Sounds Of The City series promoted by one of the UK’s largest concert promoters – SJM Concerts.

Sold-out year on year in venues across the UK, Hacienda Classical spearheaded by Tim Crooks, will feature Leeds’s very own Orchestra of Opera North for the first time. Together, they will deliver a non-stop set of Club Classics, reimagined and brought to life by the 40-piece symphony orchestra, alongside special guest artists soon to be revealed.

This page was last updated on 17 November 2023.

Bananarama, Johnny Hates Jazz, Midge Ure and voice of Five Star Denise Pearson have been announced as the special guest artists for the fifth edition of 80s Classical in Millennium Square, Leeds as part of next year’s Summer Series on Saturday 20 July 2024.

The 80s legends will be joined by Leeds’ very own Orchestra of Opera North for a trip back to the musically momentous decade, taking their chart-topping hits to new heights with the expanded power of the 50-piece orchestra.

80s Classical debuted in Leeds in 2019, bringing a roster of pop legends together with the symphonic might of Opera North’s musicians.  The 2024 sequel welcomes one of the most influential female groups in music history, Bananarama, to the Millennium Square stage. With an illustrious career spanning over four decades and recently having celebrated their 40^th anniversary, the legendary British duo, made up of Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, have achieved unparalleled global acclaim propelled by four US Billboard Top 10’s including a No. 1 with Venus, releasing 12 studio albums and selling over 30 million records.

“We are so excited to be involved in such a unique and exciting concert which is a fitting way to continue our 40^th anniversary celebrations” says Sara. “Leeds is such a vibrant city to visit and perform in and we can’t wait to take to the stage in the iconic Millennium Square with such a talented array of musicians on what is going to be a truly magical occasion for everyone” adds Keren.

Pop-punk time-travel enthusiasts Busted have today announced a major headline summer show on Thursday 11 July 2024 at Leeds Millennium Square following their sold-out and acclaimed arena tour.  

This brand-new show will see the trio – James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis – simultaneously rewind the clock and step into their future with a hi-octane, maximum fun show of all of their classic hits. They will be joined by fellow live favourites, the Ivor and Brit award winning Scouting For Girls.  Tickets go on sale Thursday 26 October at 10am.

Impossible though it may seem, it’s been twenty years since Busted bounced into the charts with the irrepressible pop-punk energy of their debut single ‘What I Go To School For’. It kickstarted a succession of hits for the trio, including the #1 smashes ‘Crashed The Wedding’, ‘Who’s David’, ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’, ‘You Said No’ and the Top 3 singles ‘Year 3000’, ‘Air Hostess’ and ‘Sleeping With The Light On’.

Busted’s many successes spread far beyond the singles charts. Three of their four studio albums also peaked at #2, with 4.5 million sales leading to eight Platinum certifications as well as a total of 25 weeks in the Top 10 and two 5x Platinum selling albums. They have won two BRIT Awards – Best Pop Act and Best British Breakthrough – while multiple sold-out arena tours have seen them sell more than 2 million tickets.

Recently Busted stormed back into the charts with their number 1 album ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’ (listen HERE). The album features incredible guest turns from Jonas Brothers to Neck Deep, James Arthur to You Me At Six plus The Vamps, Dashboard Confessional, Deaf Havana, Charlotte Sands, Bowling For Soup, Wheatus and a whole set of Busted’s solo 2.0 updates.

Busted’s live shows so far has been packed with an electrifying, celebratory atmosphere – and the setlist is so full of hits even casual Busted fans will know almost every song. Don’t miss Busted live next Summer.

Tom Grennan has announced a huge outdoor show in Leeds on Saturday 6 July 2024. Tickets go on sale at 9.30am on Friday 6 October.

The news follows the announcement of Tom’s largest UK headline show to date, set to take place at London’s Gunnersbury Park on Saturday, August 10, 2024. The BRIT and Ivor Novello- nominated artist is currently riding high after the success of his chart-topping #1 third album, What Ifs & Maybes and a sold-out UK arena tour.

The special open-air performance follows a year that has propelled him to new heights. As Grennan’s star continues to rise, demand has never been higher, and fans are encouraged to buy soon to avoid disappointment.

Tom Grennan is a songwriter with a purpose, to embrace, encourage and lift listeners with lyrical positivity, brightness – and sky-scraping choruses to sing to the rafters. The release of What Ifs & Maybes secured his second UK #1 album, widespread critical acclaim and followed his first headline arena shows in the UK, including London’s iconic O2, and shows across Europe, selling over 180,000 tickets.

The new album follows Tom’s breakthrough UK #1 record Evering Road, including platinum hits like ‘Little Bit Of Love’ and ‘By Your Side’, both Top Three in 2021’s most played songs. He has four UK Top 10 singles and three 2022 hits, including ‘Remind Me’ and ‘Lionheart (Fearless)’, all among The Official Big Top 40’s Biggest Songs of 2022. Tom holds over 1.3 billion streams and 9 million monthly Spotify listeners, and this year was nominated for the 2023 BRIT Award for Alternative/Rock Act, marking his third consecutive BRIT nod following Song of the Year for his international smash ‘Little Bit Of Love’, and Alternative/Rock Act in 2022.

The Summer Series will be making a welcome return from July 6 until August 5,  2023, promising an unforgettable experience with sixteen open-air gigs from world-renowned and emerging acts.

Set against the stunning backdrop of Leeds Civic Hall, the annual ticketed series will showcase an eclectic programme of events, catering to every musical taste.

The festival kicks off on Thursday, July 6 with the Sounds Of The City concert series, bringing some of rock, indie and pop’s most prominent names to the heart of Leeds City Centre across seven nights.

Artists lined up to perform include McFly, Kasabian, Blossoms, Bastille, and The Wombats plus special guests.

Fans of the 70s are in for a treat as legendary Nile Rodgers & CHIC bring their jam-packed catalogue of hits on July 19, the international smash-hit tribute show to ABBA Thank You For The Music takes to the stage on July 21 and the world-renowned Brutus Gold’s Love Train returns for another outdoor retro spectacular on August 4.

Chart-topping folk-rock band Levellers host a Beautiful Day Out on July 22 and on the following day (July 23), the Leeds Ska & Mod Festival returns with this year’s line-up including the likes of Bad Manners and From The Jam.

The acclaimed 50-piece Orchestra of Opera North will be back with two more all-star open-air concerts featuring original chart-topping artists from the last four decades. The fourth instalment of 80s Classical takes place on July 28 featuring pop legends Nik Kershaw, Go West and Carol Decker. On July 29, Club Classical Anthems returns with a ground-breaking club/classical crossover featuring Utah Saints, Janice Robinson and Kelli-Leigh.

The last week of the Summer Series sees incredible local and national gospel artists and choirs take to the stage at the soul-stirring Gospel Explosion on August 3. Rounding up the concert series on August 5, the Popworld Festival returns with a huge line-up for its second edition including Ronan Keating, B*Witched and Chesney Hawkes.

The season culminates with hosting the official start of the annual Leeds Pride celebrations with a free event on Millennium Square on August 6 2023.

Eurovision fans in Leeds will be joining a nationwide party with Millennium Square set to host one of the official BBC Fanzones of the Eurovision Song Contest.

As well as live screening the semi-finals and final of the annual musical spectacular on the square’s brand new big screen, the fanzone will also welcome live music and DJ sets as the city celebrates the best of Eurovision while also giving fans a chance to donate to the Leeds Together for Ukraine appeal.

Following the semi-final screenings on May 9 and May 11, the main event on Saturday, May 13 will include live performances in collaboration with Leeds Pride including 2019 British Pop artist Michael Rice who was selected to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2019 after winning the BBC TV show ‘All Together Now’. He will be performing his UK Top 10 single ‘Bigger Than Us’ as well as brand-new singles including ‘Gotta Go Dancing’.

Also taking to the stage will be one of the UK’s leading ABBA tribute bands Planet Abba, bringing the legendary Swedish band’s biggest hits to the stage including Eurovision 1974’s winning song ‘Waterloo’ together with other party anthems including ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Mama Mia.’

DJ’ing and co-hosting the event will be international multi-award-winning drag queen St Sordid Secret alongside 2010 Drag Idol Leeds winner Cherry Pops, who has been entertaining audiences across the world for over a decade.

This page was last updated on 24 February 2023.

Superstars from the last four decades of pop and club music have been announced as special guests for the Orchestra of Opera North’s two open-air concerts this summer as part of the annual Millennium Square Summer Series organised by Leeds City Council.

80s Classical will bring pop legends including Nik Kershaw, Go West, Nick Heyward, Heaven 17 and T’Pau’s Carol Decker together with the symphonic might of Opera North’s 50-strong Orchestra on Friday 28 July.

On Saturday 29 July, dance music from the 90s to the present gets a radical revamp with Club Classical Anthems, as international artists take their hits up a gear with the expanded power and colour of Opera North’s musicians behind them. Joining the Orchestra will be Leeds’ own electronic pioneers Utah Saints, Dreamer hitmaker Janice Robinson, twice UK number one vocalist Kelli-Leigh and singer-songwriter Karen Harding.

“We’re thrilled to be coming back to our second home in Millennium Square, and excited to reveal some stellar debuts, as well as the return of some familiar faces, for this fourth instalment of 80s Classical”, says Cliff Masterson, composer, arranger and conductor for both shows.

Sheffield synth-pop legends Heaven 17 – Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory – come to 80s Classical for the first time with reworkings of their anthems including Temptation. “Hearing some of our biggest hits of the 80s in these new orchestral arrangements is one of the high points of my career”, says vocalist Glenn. “It’s such an emotional and beautiful thing to behold. And now we are going to be performing them live with The Orchestra of Opera North, I’ll get to stand in front of that massive 50-piece orchestra and sing some of our favourite songs live. To say I’m excited really is an understatement (also, rather nervous!)”

Nick Heyward, whose hits with Haircut One Hundred include Love Plus One and Fantastic Day, will also make his orchestral debut. “I’m so looking forward to coming back to Leeds and playing with Opera North”, he says. “It’s going to be a wonderful evening of fantastic music.”

80s Classical favourites Carol Decker and Nik Kershaw both appeared at the inaugural gig in 2019, and will each return for the third time this summer. “I’m flattered to be asked again to perform at this unique event and I’m looking forward to soaking up the wonderful atmosphere with the lovely folk of Leeds”, says Nik, who’ll revisit the timeless Wouldn’t It Be Good, I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and The Riddle with the Orchestra.

Brit Award-winning duo Go West, singer Peter Cox and guitarist/vocalist Richard Drummie, will perform King of Wishful Thinking, their hit single from the Pretty Woman soundtrack, together with other successes including We Close Our Eyes.

Saturday night’s Club Classical Anthems sees the return of Janice Robinson, whose most iconic hit has been super-sized with sweeping strings, glistening brass and tuned percussion in one of Cliff and his musical partner Steve Anderson’s most inspired treatments. “I am so excited to be returning to the stage with the amazing Opera North!” says the US-born singer. “The way Cliff and Steve arranged Dreamer took my breath away. The first time I performed it on Millennium Square truly was one of the most magical nights in my career, and this summer’s event is going to be epic. I can’t wait to give the audience more!”

For local heroes Utah Saints – Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt – “this is an amazing alignment of the stars for Leeds. It’s 2023: the Year of Culture, the 30th anniversary of the release of Utah Saints’ debut album –and a time when a lot of us need a lift.” Hyperactive, hook-packed early-90s singles like Something Good and What Can You Do For Me were taken into another dimension in their first encounter with the Orchestra on Millennium Square in 2018. “Last time was immense, this time will be off the scale!” promises Tim. “It’s a great honour to perform in our hometown with the awesome Orchestra of Opera North”.

Club culture of the past decade is represented by Kelli-Leigh, vocalist on two UK Number 1s – I Got U by Duke Dumont featuring Jax Jones, and I Wanna Feel by Secondcity – and Karen Harding, who followed X Factor and Eurovision appearances with the moody magnificence of her top ten hit Say Something.

“The chance to experience original artists performing scaled-up versions of their hits, backed by the scale, power and skill of the Orchestra of Opera North, really puts these two shows in a class of their own”, says Musical Director Steve Anderson. “It’s a joy for Cliff and me to work with these artists whose music has meant so much to us over the years – and to share that with our brilliant audiences. The nostalgic aspect of it is incredibly powerful and emotional, no doubt, but what both these shows are really about is great songs that have stood the test of time, given new life by these superb musicians”.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “We are delighted to be hosting these fantastic events again on Millennium Square at the end of July. The magnificent Orchestra of Opera North together with a range of star performers promises to be more must-see outdoor concert experiences for people to enjoy. We are especially pleased these events are taking place within Leeds 2023, as the city showcases its musical and cultural offering and talents to the world.”

Tickets for the concerts are available from 1pm on Friday 24 February via millsqleeds.com (0113 376 0318).

Standing tickets for 80s Classical (Friday 28 July), are priced at £35.00, with a limited amount of reserved seating available at £44.00. Standing tickets for Club Classical Anthems (Saturday 29 July) are £29.50, or £38.50 for reserved seating. A VIP/express bar upgrade is available at both events for an additional £11.00.