Leeds International Festival of Ideas (LIFI) has entered its final one-month countdown ahead of its return to Leeds Playhouse from Tuesday 6th to Saturday 10th October 2026, unveiling new panellists and an expanded youth strand.
The festival announced new additions to its Saturday panel Are Kids Still Part of the Plan?, which explores falling birth rates and parenting decisions. TV personality Olivia Bentley (Made in Chelsea) and BBC Radio 5 Live broadcaster Johnny I’Anson will join host Laura Hamilton alongside Dr SJ Beard, Yousra Samir Imran, and Betty Mukherjee in the Courtyard Theatre on Saturday 10th October from 2 pm to 3:30 pm.
LIFI26 also introduced LIFI Futures, an expanded four-event strand designed for younger audiences following the debut of Young LIFI in 2025. Three of the four youth events are free and booked directly through local schools, colleges, and universities.
The LIFI Futures lineup includes:
- Is maths the root of everything? (Wednesday 7th October, 12 pm – 1.30 pm, Courtyard Theatre) – The sole ticketed event open to the general public, celebrating Leeds as the UK’s first City of Maths. Led by Countdown’s Rachel Riley MBE alongside Dr Katie Chicot, Professor Ben Gaunt, Dr Ollie Halliday, and Professor Catherine Noakes OBE.
- Why does no one talk about apprenticeships? (Wednesday 7th October, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – A free session hosted with Weightmans exploring alternative routes to higher education.
- What no one told you about getting a job (Thursday 8th October, 11 am – 12 pm) – A free event with Luminate Education Group tackling employment assumptions and NEET statistics.
- How to be unapologetically you? (Friday 9th October, 12.30 pm – 2 pm, Quarry Theatre) – Hosted by BBC Newsround’s Shanequa Paris, featuring Tasha Ghouri, Dr Radha Modgil, Ash Palmisciano, and Stevie Ward discussing identity, confidence, and mental health.
“Young LIFI was the best thing we added last year, and it was one event. LIFI Futures is now four events,” said Martin Dickson, Festival Director. “Identity, apprenticeships, the NEET label, and maths – these are the conversations shaping what young people in Leeds think is possible for them, and they deserve the same stage, the same speakers and the same seriousness as everything else on the programme.”
The main five-day programme opens on Tuesday 6 October with Louis Theroux in conversation at Leeds Playhouse and closes on Saturday 10th October with Tim Minchin. Additional featured speakers across the week include Chris Packham CBE, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Elizabeth Day, Samira Ahmed, James O’Brien, Afua Hirsch, Roman Kemp, Harriet Harman, Denise van Outen, and Joe Tidy.
Tickets are on sale now via leedsintfest.com.
