The Carnegie Sporting Words Festival presented by the cultural charity Harrogate International Festivals in partnership with
Leeds Met, is a pioneering innovative festival that celebrates the words of sports in an entertaining, educational and productive way for writers, readers and the wider community. 

Sport today makes a global impact and this Festival will reflect how the words of sport reach out beyond boundaries to sports readers & writers across the world.

Sitting under the Cultural Olympics banner, the Festival will align itself with international sporting interests leading towards the 2012 London Olympics and reflect how sport is at the very heart of a global culture through words that are read, written and spoken, each having an impact which reaches all corners of the world.

Exploiting the fundamental elements of sporting words, through books, newspapers, broadcast & digital media and the web, the Festival will highlight the burgeoning sports media and digital and book markets.  Over 7 million sports books were sold last year in the UK, and there is an increasing demand for high quality critically detached, or reflective sports writing.
 
The festival opened today with an interactive day for school pupils at Headingley Carnegie Stadium incorporating workshops on sports reporting, sports journalism, coaching sessions and A Question of Sport. Following on from the opening day, Digital Friday includes sessions on Innovation in Digital Broadcasting with BBC Sport Interactive as well as sessions focussing on interview skills with SKY's Lawrie Madden and digital workshops with Radiowaves.
 
During the weekend of the event, the Festival will move to the Cedar Court in Harrogate for Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday for an entertaining programme of discussion, debate and insights into topical and controversial sporting issues.

All Leeds Met students and staff will receive 30% discount for our Harrogate events.  Digital Friday's Online and On Air events at Headingley Carnegie Stadium are free to students and staff. The day features digital media and innovation, journalism and training.

As Festival partners, Leeds Met students and staff have the opportunity to obtain free tickets to join us at the Cedar Court Hotel to enjoy the UK's first festival dedicated to the words all sport fans read and hear. Join us for a single event or choose a Day Rover Ticket for a whole day of sporting indulgence.

Visit http://www.sportingwords.com/ to choose your event, then reserve your seats through tickets@sportingwords.com detailing the number of tickets you require, with your name, address and contact telephone number. Please title your email 'Leeds Met Offer'. Tickets will be ready for collection at the Cedar Court on the day of events, and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.