Leeds is hosting the Yorkshire Cricket Mela from July 10-25, a festival of cricket, culture, community and commerce, to celebrate the Pakistan v Australia Test match at Headingley Carnegie (July 21-25), and is offering to pay for a select number of the sports media to attend between July 19-21.
As well as the organisers providing selected SJA members with travel, accommodation and meals, they will also provide them with a ticket to the first day of the Test match. Interview opportunities with players and attendance at the festival events will also be included in the visit.
As part of this festival, there will be an event called The Business of Sport on July 20. Taking the format of Question Time debate, the event will explore positive and negative impacts that a major sporting event can bring to a city. BBC presenter and sports advocate Harry Gration is chairing the debate which will have double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes and Richard Lewis, the chairman of Sport England and executive chairman of the RFL on the panel.
The Leeds organisers are seeking journalists who are based in England but write for international publications to visit Leeds and write about the festival to help to raise the international profile of the city. A maximum of five journalists can be invited.
Leeds is one of the candidate host cities for England’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup, and the organisers of the event have a close relationship with Leeds Rhinos, Leeds United and Yorkshire County Cricket.
For more information or to apply, contact Debbie Clarke, PR Coordinator, on 0113 214 5203 or 07891277539, or by email, Debbie.Clarke@marketingleeds.com, quoting your SJA membership number and media outlets you work for.
First posted June 12
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