Launch of Leeds 2023 showed the city is ready for cultural awakening - Kully Thiarai & Alan Lane

The show itself was an explosion of music, words and dance on a big stage on a rugby pitch as many of the city’s artists performed new pieces and collaborations: opera singers sang Chumbawamba's Tubthumping, dancers in wheelchairs and on roller skates took to the stage, children performed ‘I predict a Riot’ accompanied by Carnival dancers, even the Poet Laureate created a new piece for the occasion. It was a bit of a do.

And then famous daughter of the city Corinne Bailey Rae took to the stage to close the show. As she hit the chorus of her best-known song the lights and music went out. BBC Breaking News filled the screens and the crowd gathered were told by Look North’s Amy Garcia that there was an incident at the River Aire.

Footage from a helicopter showed flashing lights beneath the water’s surface, and suddenly, from the darkness of the night-time river a giant brick man burst out of the water. He clattered the buildings around Bridgewater Place before flinging his industrial cladding off - bricks, water and mud flying in all directions - revealing a body of light.

He was, he bellowed in a voice very reminiscent of Yorkshire legend Barrie Rutter, the sleeping giant of Leeds. Awake now.

Back in the stadium the audience stood uneasy. Don’t worry Corinne reassured, she knew this would happen. And then above us in the sky came the huge face of the giant, like a neon Voldemort, he peered over the north stand - and declared, pompously, to be furious with Leeds’ failure to embrace its own cultural energy.

Unshaken, Corinne looked him straight in the eye and explained she was more than aware of the promise of Leeds, the cultural potential in the city - why else would she have gathered a stadium full of artists to welcome him?

In the pause that followed we collectively held our breath. Then the giant burst into laughter - delighted by having been so predicted by this pop star. As the giant fell from the sky, each of the falling stars became thousands of points of light amongst the crowd. The audience cheered and fireworks lit up the night sky.

This happened. Just last week.

It’s the age of story-telling. A time for storytellers.

If the last few years have taught us anything it’s the importance of stories. And the power that comes from telling them well. Whether it be in Ukraine or here at home during Covid, a good story well-told can galvanise people into doing what was thought to be impossible. And we’ve seen since what happens when stories are told in bad faith, narratives that look to divide people rather than bring them together. There’s never been a more important time for stories to be true and bold.

There is rightly much talk about the place of culture in a cost-of-living crisis. There is the important answer of economic development and growth opportunity that all of Yorkshire is well placed to understand: look to Hull and 2017, look to The Piece Hall, look to the Mayor of West Yorkshire’s development plans.

But there is also the answer that understands the need for hope. The urgent role for joy. A shared narrative that leaves enough room for everyone to take a hero’s role is a central part of a collaborative healthy society. It is a time for story tellers to play their part.

The Awakening was an attempt to give an old, well-worn story of the city a different ending. And to create a new, hopeful myth.

This is the endeavour of all of Leeds 2023 - to tell some stories so powerfully that they become new realities - wishing futures into being.

Because the team behind The Awakening knows that Leeds is crammed full of creativity, that behind every door in the city there is artistry and culture and imagination.

A city full of care and delight. A city connected to the world in meaningful ways that means the world lives here in our city too. That all of us have the potential to be an artist, if we choose, no matter what the deadening voices of the cultural establishment tell us. And artist or not we all have the human urge, the primaeval need to make our mark, to leave an imprint, to be heard.

And most importantly we know that Leeds is a daring, cultural giant ready to wake.

And last Saturday we tried to prove it. By the looks of the coverage in the media we may well have convinced much of the nation of it.

Most importantly we might have started to convince the city ourselves.

Over the next few months, the ballot art will appear all over the city; on beer mats and billboards, in exhibitions. And ‘1001 Stories’ will take over the Leeds Playhouse as part of The Performance Ensemble project. Much more is coming as we look to keep the promise of the giant.

Kully Thiarai is creative director and chief executive of Leeds 2023 and Alan Lane is artistic director of Slung Low.