Over the past two weeks, Leeds Digital Festival has attracted 15,000 attendees to more than 200 events around the city, the large majority of which were free. Large technology companies, government ministers, banks, law firms and universities were all in attendance, but the event began in 2016 as a way to draw attention to the city’s success in growing tech start-ups.
Leeds claims to be the UK’s “second city” for start-ups, behind London, at least according to a government report published in March (although Edinburgh and Manchester, to name but two rival contenders, may have something to say about that). In technology, the first start-up success stories were among fintechs with links to the city’s large financial services sector, and health technology businesses, with NHS
