THE LEEDS BRIEF ⏰ Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Good morning Leeds - Wednesday 27 May. The bees are swarming around the station pedestrian crossings. A lad from Otley designed the World Cup scarves for nearly 50 countries. A pub has knocked three hours off its World Cup watching plans. And a major rail blockade has just ended — before a different one starts on Saturday. Let's go. 👇

⚽ WORLD CUP

🧣 The FIFA World Cup scarves for every competing nation were designed in Otley - When the World Cup kicks off in Los Angeles next month, fans from 48 nations will be wearing officially licensed scarves designed by Tom Pitt and his team at Hand Drawn Pixels - a creative agency based in Otley, near Leeds. Commissioned by Global Scarves, Pitt's studio produced almost 200 unique designs, one for each qualifying country, each built around national flag colours, kit history, cultural patterns and visual heritage. The brief: create something that works as a standalone piece while sitting cohesively in a retail range — and alongside a bucket-hat collection. England's first World Cup game is against Croatia on 17 June. (Sources: Creative Boom · Yorkshire Evening Post)