Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds to host four-day international jousting tournament featuring 10-foot lances
Top jousters from around the world will compete for international glory at a competition of the “medieval extreme sport” in Leeds this Easter.
This Easter bank holiday weekend, the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds will host its annual International Jousting Tournament, marking 25 years of the global spectacle at the museum.
The four-day tournament, lasting from Friday, April 18, to Monday, April 21, will see thousands of fans pack out the museum’s purpose-built jousting arena for the competitive bouts of extreme equestrianism, as six highly-skilled athletes attempt to strike opponents with a 10-foot lance at speeds of up to 30mph.
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Riders representing the UK, Emma Pearn and Mike Collin will be looking to build on their successful partnership at the museum having won the most recent joust in August 2024.
They will be facing stiff competition from German duo Bernd Joachim Voigt and Stephan Weiss and challengers Vince Todd and Kyle Van Dolah-Evans from the US.
There are two tournament shows per day starting at 11am and 2pm, featuring knights and horses, plus plenty of pomp and pageantry.
There will also be music and medieval-themed food on offer, plus a packed programme of talks, combat demonstrations and have-a-go activities.
This year’s tournament marks 25 years since the first invitational International competition of competitive modern jousting held at the museum. Gordon Summers, who jousted in that inaugural tournament in 2000, will be the referee, or ‘Knight Marshall’, for this competition.
With a major new exhibition opening this summer, this Easter will be fan’s only opportunity to catch jousting in Leeds in 2025.
Tickets must be purchased for anyone from the age of three and above and range in price from £5 - £25. For more information and to book visit the Royal Armouries website.