Here’s a first look at ‘To Leeds, With Love’ - an enchanting Christmas projection beamed onto The Queens Hotel every 15 minutes between 16:30-20:30 until Sunday 22nd December.
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00:00This tree is looking a bit bare. Do you think you can find some decorations?
00:07Don't worry, some special guests are going to help you.
00:11We really wanted to bring something a little different to the city centre at Christmas time.
00:16Something that is free, that drives people into the city centre,
00:19while they're enjoying their Christmas shopping or their work nights out.
00:24The canvas which is behind us, which is the Queen's Hotel,
00:27is the canvas on which we're projecting the Gingerbread Man again,
00:31and a continuation of his story and his adventures, 12 days of Christmas.
00:36And this year it's narrated by Richard Armitage.
00:39Turtle doves. Oh, I think we can all see where this is going.
00:47I think we're about to be joined by a few feathered friends.
00:51Anybody who saw the projection last year will have seen a very naughty character
00:54called the Gingerbread Man. He has reformed and now has a job at the Queen's Hotel,
01:00and he's trimming a giant Christmas tree ready for a sumptuous Christmas party.
01:07And he's getting a bit of help from all the characters from the 12 days of Christmas.
01:12So the lords are a-leaping, the maids are a-milking, turtle doves and all of that kind of thing.
01:18And it is to Leeds with love, because I'm Leeds born and bred, so it's a great joy to do this.
01:24I think it's great that Leeds City, along with Leeds Bird, have managed to put on this amazing projection in the city,
01:31one of very few in the world, I think, on this scale, that you can see on a beautiful building like the Queen's Hotel.
01:38So really pleased to be part of it, pleased that Victoria Leeds can sponsor the event,
01:42and the return of the Gingerbread Man is always exciting for all of us.
01:46If you needed any more reasons to come to Leeds, whether it be for shopping or to stay in a hotel,
01:51but to see the projection as well just gives another family-friendly feel to Leeds City.
01:56We were told about this a year ago, it's happening again this year.
01:59It has just been so exciting for everybody. It's a secret, nobody's really seen it, so we're all going to be quite excited about it.
02:07Our guests, we've got 500 guests in house just now who are all shutting their curtains so they can enjoy it with us.
02:13It's just really exciting, everyone's really buzzed up about it.
02:17Last year I was having emails and texts from people all over the world.
02:21It'll be the same again this year, just really, really exciting.
02:23Leeds is a great city to do Christmas in because not everything costs.
02:28You could walk around the city and not put your hand in your pocket once,
02:31and see beautiful decorations and hear great music and see, obviously, this doesn't cost a penny.
02:38So I think it's a really welcoming city, times are tough at the moment.
02:42We're working with Onion Lab, a Barcelona design agency who specialise in this digital mapping,
02:47working with a local company, Pro Audio, the LeedsBit team, working with the shopping centres and others,
02:53and bringing it all together because it's only through proper collaboration that we can make these things happen.