January at Horizon Leeds

Wow. January… where on earth did you go? Here is what happened throughout the month at Horizon Leeds.

It honestly feels like we blinked and suddenly the first month of the year was done. But if January is anything to go by, this year and beyond is shaping up to be a really exciting time for events.

We kicked things off by opening our inbox in the first week back to the largest number of January enquiries we’ve ever had, which feels incredibly positive. People are already starting to think strategically about their event calendars, particularly looking ahead to late 2026… and, dare I say it, even further beyond that, after some of the conversations we’ve been having.

It’s been a real mix of enquiries too. The trend for in-month bookings is very much still there. We’re filling up nicely, but we do still have some spaces available in February, so if you’ve got something coming up and need a venue fairly quickly, please get in touch.

March is also shaping up well, particularly for larger events. We’re seeing enquiries for conferences of 150 delegates plus, and we still have some dates where we could accommodate a large conference or even an exclusive-use event.

Looking further ahead through the rest of the year, the conversations have been especially exciting. We’re talking to organisations about exclusive-use conferences for 150–220 delegates, internal comms days and away days, particularly for teams who are still hybrid or remote and want to bring people together in a meaningful, purposeful way, plus the usual workshops and board meetings.

Health & Wellbeing: A Big Focus This Month

If there’s one theme that runs through January at Horizon Leeds, it’s health and wellbeing.

We’ve spent a lot of time this month talking about how wellbeing can be properly embedded into events, not as an afterthought, but as a core part of the experience. We’ve shared a couple of blogs around this, including Start the Year with a Mind & Body Reset and New Year, New Energy: How to Plan a Wellbeing-Focused Away Day, and the response has been fantastic.

We’re seeing a real shift away from traditional, back-to-back agendas filled with speakers and very little breathing space. Speakers are brilliant, but being talked at all day can be exhausting. Instead, organisations are starting to look at balance: mixing strategy with movement, learning with reflection, and content with connection.

That might mean

  • A breathing or mindfulness session after lunch
  • Movement or stretch breaks throughout the day
  • Looking at the skeletal impact of sitting at a desk all day
  • Using our riverside location for netwalking and fresh-air breaks
  • Choosing menus that fuel people rather than slow them down

Often, it’s the small, thoughtful changes that make the biggest difference to how people feel and how engaged they are.

Our Wellbeing Day Delegate Package

To support this shift, we’ve launched our Wellbeing Day Delegate Package, designed to make it easy to put people at the heart of your event.

It includes:

  • Inspiring room hire
  • A winter wellness shot
  • Bean-to-cup coffee and hydration stations
  • Healthy seasonal lunch
  • A sweet (but still healthy!) treat
  • Alternative milks
  • Mindful paper and pens
  • Fidget toys
  • Breakout areas
  • Lunch-time netwalking maps
  • A breath away stress workshop

It’s ideal for internal strategy days, leadership sessions and away days where you want people to leave feeling energised, valued and looked after, not drained.

Internal Events: My Absolute Favourite

I’ll let you into a little secret: internal events are my favourite events to organise. Internal comms days, away days and team sessions are where you can really get creative – especially when you have exclusive use of Horizon Leeds.

We’re seeing some brilliant ideas come through, such as:

  • Internal teams like HR or Finance are hosting drop-in zones for questions
  • Vox-pop style feedback sessions, capturing what people love about working for the organisation
  • Creating content that can later be used for recruitment and employer branding
  • Blending strategy sessions with wellbeing workshops or creative activities

These events don’t just work on the day; they continue to add value long after the chairs have been packed away.

Why ROI Matters More Than Ever

One thing I’m talking about a lot with clients currently is return on investment. Budgets are under scrutiny, and rightly so. So, it’s more important than ever to ask: Why are we doing this event? And what do we want to get out of it?

That return might look like:

  • Better internal alignment
  • Increased stakeholder engagement
  • Useful feedback from staff
  • Content for recruitment or internal comms
  • Product education and deeper understanding across teams or audiences
  • A clear shift in behaviour or culture

When ROI is considered early, events become far more purposeful and impactful. If you’d like to talk this through, I’d genuinely love to. A call, a coffee, a proper brainstorm, this is the part of my job I enjoy the most.

Launching the Leeds Independent Venues Group

One of the biggest personal highlights of January has been the launch of the Leeds Independent Venues Group. This is something I’ve been beavering away on behind the scenes for a while, so seeing it come to life has been incredibly exciting. Six independent Leeds venues have come together with shared values around collaboration, quality, sustainability, community impact and people-first service.

Rather than competing, we’re choosing to collaborate, showcasing what makes Leeds such a brilliant city for events and helping organisers find the right space for what they need. If you’d like to understand more about how the group came together and the thinking behind it, do check out our launch blog, which looks at the why behind the collective.

We’ve got some really exciting plans coming up, including deep dives into each venue, and I’d love to speak to anyone interested in learning more about the group or how it could support their events.

Looking Ahead

All in all, January has been a brilliant start to the year, busy, energising and full of exciting conversations. If this is how we’re beginning, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year (and beyond!) brings.

If you’re planning an event, whether it’s last-minute, later this year, or already looking ahead to 2027 and beyond, please do get in touch. Whether it’s a large conference, an internal away day or a wellbeing-focused event, we’d love to help you make it something special.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead.