Bild: Geoff Tranter
Leeds and Dortmund Celebrate 50 Years of Successful Twinning
After the first celebrations in Leeds back in October 2019, the Golden Jubilee has now also been celebrated in Dortmund – three years later due to the pandemic.
The Dortmund Lord Mayor Thomas Westphal welcomed a civic delegation led by the Lord Mayor of Leeds Bob Gettings, for whom a diverse programme of visits, meetings and events had been organized.
The main event was the Official Golden Anniversary Ceremony attended by members of the City Council and representatives of political parties and numerous Dortmund societies and associations. The British Consul-General Rafe Courage also took part.
Bild (Bildlizenz/Fotograf/Grafiker): Dortmund-Agentur / Gaye Suse Kromer
From right to left: Oberbürgermeister Thomas Westphal, Lord Mayor Bob Gettings, Lady Mayoress Lesley Gettings and British Consul-General Rafe Courage.
Lord Mayor Bob Gettings signs the Dortmund Golden Visitors’ Book.
Bild (Bildlizenz/Fotograf/Grafiker): Dortmund-Agentur / Gaye Suse Kromer
As part of the programme for the visit, the Leeds delegation took part in a walkabout through the city centre including the “Dortmund Christmas City” with its traditional Christmas Market.
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanoff
The Civic Delegation with Dortmund guide on Peace Square outside the Old Town Hall.
Further highlights were a visit to the Dortmund Concert Hall ……
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanoff
The Leeds Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Dortmund Concert Hall.
….. and the Dortmund Opera House, where the delegation was able to go backstage. This was particularly interesting for the Lord Mayor who is Deputy Chair of the Board of the Leeds Grand Theatre.
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanof
The Leeds Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress with the Leeds delegation backstage at the Dortmund Opera House.
Afterwards the delegation attended the traditional Advent Carol Singing Concert, which took place in the Foyer of the Dortmund Opera House.
The delegation also had meetings with groups that have recently formed partnerships with their twin city including the Dortmund Jugendring – the local Association of Youth Organizations …..
……. and the Royal Saint Barbara’s Dortmund Golf Club, and also renewed connections with Dortmund people that have had long-standing contacts such as the Dortmund Anglo-German Society.
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanof
The Leeds Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress with members of the Royal St Barbara’s Golf Club.
Special importance was attached to establishing possible new cooperations in the business area with presentations of innovation-based projects and titles such as “European Capital of Innovation” and “Smart City”, which are presented in the new established innovation-space so-called “Projector”
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanoff
The Civic Delegation and Dortmund’s Deputy Mayoress Barbara Brunsing, together with Angela Martin, responsible for university and science matters, and Kurt Pommerenke from the Economic Development Office in Dortmund.
In 2021 Dortmund was awarded the title of “Economic Capital of Innovation”, and the city’s application for the iCapitol Award was successful. The Leeds delegation were also given a presentation of the Dortmund “Smart City” project, and in the ensuring discussions, further contacts on economic developments were agreed.
The visit to the BVB Borussia Dortmund Football Stadium was combined with a meeting to the Dortmund club’s “Education Centre” which was founded as a result of a visit to Leeds by Dortmund`s youth department and worked together with the Leeds United „Study Support Centre“..
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanoff
The Lord Mayor and his party with representatives of Borussia Dortmund Education Centre.
Bild: Geoff Tranter
The Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress on the Borussia Dortmund’s trainer bench
Lord Mayor Gettings and the delegation also visited the German National Football Museum, and were not only given a short guided tour, but also invited to discuss the topic of the situation in Ukraine and had the opportunity to visit the Ukraine Café that is located there.
To symbolise the continuity of contacts between the two cities, Leeds presented as a jubilee gift an oak tree which the Lord Mayor of Leeds planted in Dortmund City Centre together with Dortmund’s Deputy Mayoress, Barbara Brunsing.
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanoff
The Civic Delegation together with members of the Dortmund Parks Department.
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanoff
This British telephone box – a gift from the City of Leeds in 1979 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the signing of the official twinning agreement – is being renovated by volunteers from the German Industrial Paint Museum. When finished it will again be available to the public. The delegation visited the museum to see how the renovation work was progressing, and the Lord Mayor signed the museum’s Visitors’ Book.
Bild: Stadt Dortmund, Britta Kitanof
The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, with the Sergeant-at-Arms, Dortmund’s Deputy Lady Mayoress, Barbara Brunsing, and Geoff Tranter, Chair of the Dortmund Anglo-German Society enjoying the local gastronomic delights at the restaurant “Alter Markt”.