A special audience as £60m city arena takes shape

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were yesterday among the first spectators at the new Leeds Arena, which is still under construction.

The royal couple watched local acts perform in the 13,500-capacity venue, which is due to be completed next year.

The Queen, who was wearing a Karl Ludwig dress and embellished coat in cream with a matching hat by milliner Angela Kelly, was treated to an aerial acrobatic display and musical performances by local schoolchildren.

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She and the Duke met builders and apprentices who have worked on the £60m project before unveiling a plaque in a topping-out ceremony.

Joshua Wilkinson, 18, a general construction apprentice from Leeds, said: “I said to her ‘Nice to meet you’ and explained what I do.

“She said I must have a good head for heights. It was nice to meet her.

“I expected to be really nervous around her but she makes you feel really calm. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

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The visit was part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee tour which this week has also seen her visit Tyneside, Teesside and Durham.

Students from Little London Community Primary put on a concert and nine-year-old Aleesha Cantrell read a poem in which she told the royal visitors: “Welcome to Leeds.”

Despite admitting she had “butterflies” and that she had expected the Queen to be taller, she gave a nerveless solo recital of a poem she wrote called Leeds Leads, before presenting a copy to Her Majesty.

“I wrote it quite a long time ago, but I practised it about 40 times,” she said.

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“I only found out a couple of days ago that I was performing it for the Queen.

“I had hurt myself just before I found out, so I was crying because of that, but I was also crying because I was so happy.”

Aleesha’s poem included the line “We are making progress, but there’s still a long way to go,” which seemed appropriate given the setting in which she was performing.

The youngsters gave a rendition of a Zulu tribal song as well as playing a piece of xylophone music.

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The Royals were clearly impressed, smiling throughout and joining in the hearty applause at the end.

Proud headteacher Jill Wood beamed as she told them: “Kaiser Chiefs eat your heart out!”

Mrs Wood, who chatted at length with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after the performance, added: “I’m very emotional.

“I have to say both the Queen and Prince Philip are amazing at putting people at ease.

“They had a really genuine interest in the children.”

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Acrobat Deborah Sanderson, from Leeds circus company Urban Angels, gave a performance of silks – suspending herself from a long piece of cloth 20m above the arena floor.

“It’s not every day you get to perform for the Queen,” she said. “It was nerve-wracking, but exciting.”

A host of civic dignitaries including Lord Mayor of Leeds, Coun Ann Castle, and Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Sir Norman Bettison were lined up to meet Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan admitted he was nervous too.

He added: “My mum is absolutely made up – for her, everything else I have done in my life pales in comparison, this is the big one.”

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