One month to go as TRIVIAL PURSUIT Leeds prepares to mark the city’s 400th year

Famous Leeds faces help bring the city’s heritage to life in a free, city-wide reimagining of the iconic board game

Running Saturday 25 July – Sunday 30 August 2026

A host of famous Leeds faces are helping the city celebrate 400 years as TRIVIAL PURSUIT Leeds arrives this summer.

The renowned board game is being brought to life as LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District) transforms the city centre into a live, interactive version of Hasbro’s iconic TRIVIAL PURSUIT board game, marking 400 years since Leeds was granted its royal charter.

Central to the city-wide experience are the stories, achievements, and surprising facts that have shaped Leeds over four centuries and helped put it on the map. From the origins of Marks & Spencer to a connection with the first British internet provider, and even the story of carbonated water, Leeds has played a remarkable role in national life. The city is also home to famous names, including Peter O’Toole, Melanie Brown, Marco Pierre White, and Beryl Burton, alongside countless innovators, artists, sporting heroes, and cultural pioneers.

An array of well-known personalities are involved, appearing digitally to look back and look ahead at the city’s notable events, historical achievements, and significant developments. Leeds-born presenter and podcaster Alex Zane, historian Ruth Goodman, and commentator Daniel Norcross each take on Entertainment, History, and Sports & Leisure, telling the stories behind the people, places, and moments that define Leeds.

Alex Zane says: “It was a real privilege to return to my home city to tell the story of Roundhay Park’s musical heritage, from Madonna to Robbie Williams and Lewis Capaldi, on what is a momentous 400-year anniversary for Leeds this summer.”

They are joined by a roll-call of national and local faces with a Leeds connection, each appearing virtually to ask a special Question for Today. Among them are actors Bob Cryer, Jeremy Dyson, Angela Griffin, Jim Moir, and Kate O’Toole, broadcaster John Craven, and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. The sporting line-up brings together Ryder Cup European team captain Luke Donald, rugby league’s Julia Lee, snooker’s Oliver Lines and squash champion James Willstrop. One lucky player is drawn daily, with the chance to win a £500 Hays Travel voucher.

There is more to play for beyond the daily draw. Journey around the city centre answering one question per category, then head to Leeds City Museum for your final question. Collect all six wedges, and you will be in with a chance of winning a weekly bundle of prizes from Everyman Cinema, Funstation, The Met Hotel, Tenpin, Blu Pavilion, Blu Sakura, Holland & Barrett, Trinity Leeds, Uyare by Tharavadu, Leeds Playhouse, and Waterstones.

Angela Griffin says: “LeedsBID have come up with a fun and engaging way to introduce visitors to the Leeds story through Trivial Pursuit, and I was happy to play a part in some of this trivia this summer, which is a real honour as a Loiner.”

The spectacular Brodrick Hall inside Leeds City Museum, named after architect Cuthbert Brodrick, who designed several of the city’s most iconic buildings, hosts the final stop of the game, showcasing the key centenary milestones that have shaped the city.

Sara Merritt, Principal Keeper, Leeds City Museum and Leeds Discovery Centre. “Leeds City Museum is excited to host TRIVIAL PURSUIT as part of Leeds400 this summer, offering visitors a fun and interactive way to celebrate knowledge, curiosity, and everything that makes Leeds unique.”

A board game brought to life across the city

Running from 25 July to 30 August 2026, the free experience sends participants on a journey across the city centre, travelling from category to category and testing their knowledge of Leeds’s historical moments, notable achievements, people, and places. Correct answers earn wedges, and once all six are collected, players face a final question to complete the game. Keeping things moving across the weekends are a couple of familiar-sounding helpers, Trivia Newton-John and Quiz Pine. With classic and junior questions throughout, the experience appeals to all ages.

Key locations represent the six traditional TRIVIAL PURSUIT categories: Entertainment, Geography, Sports & Leisure, Science and Nature, History, and Art & Literature. At each one, a pop-up mini exhibition celebrates all sorts of trivia, some well-known and some far less so, alongside an intriguing exhibit or two that help bring the story of Leeds to life.

With a month to go, knowledge is about to move out onto the streets and the board game is set to come to life. It is a celebration of 400 years of Leeds, told one question at a time.

Find out more at trivialpursuitleeds.com