The opening of upmarket fashion store Harvey Nichols on Briggate - complete with a top hat donning doorman - boosted the city's reputation as the number one destination for those keen to enjoy a dose of retail therapy. This was 1996, a year which also featured a number of celebrity visits to Leeds ranging from TV personalities through to sporting legends. Enjoy these photos charting 12 months in the life of your Leeds. READ MORE: How Harvey Nichols helped Leeds become the 'Knightsbridge of the North' LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook
![A new outdoor chess park opened in Chapletown. Pictured are Grand Masters in the making Ella Farrar Durrant and Jayde Carlton.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/QVNIMTIxNzQyMjY0.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
1. Leeds in 1996
A new outdoor chess park opened in Chapletown. Pictured are Grand Masters in the making Ella Farrar Durrant and Jayde Carlton. Photo: Bruce Greer
![TV's Gladiator Warrior opened the Old Orleans restaurant on Boar Lane. He is pictured lifting waitress Lyndsay Hamilton of her feet.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/QVNIMTIxNzQyMjY1.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
2. Leeds in 1996
TV's Gladiator Warrior opened the Old Orleans restaurant on Boar Lane. He is pictured lifting waitress Lyndsay Hamilton of her feet. Photo: James Hardisty
![Chris Boardman leads the peloton on the climb over Oxenhope Moor to Hebden Bridge during the early stages of the Leeds Classic in August 1996.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/QVNIMTIxNzQyMjY2.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
3. Leeds in 1996
Chris Boardman leads the peloton on the climb over Oxenhope Moor to Hebden Bridge during the early stages of the Leeds Classic in August 1996. Photo: Bruce Rollinson
![Tv personality Zoe Ball signs autographs at the new Virgin Megastore at the Leeds Shopping Plaza on Albion Street in November 1996.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/QVNIMTIxNzQyMjY3.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
4. Leeds in 1996
Tv personality Zoe Ball signs autographs at the new Virgin Megastore at the Leeds Shopping Plaza on Albion Street in November 1996. Photo: Roy Fox
![Crowds gathered outside the new Harvey Nichols store on Briggate for the long awaited official opening in October 1996.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/QVNIMTIxNzQyMjY4.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
5. Leeds in 1996
Crowds gathered outside the new Harvey Nichols store on Briggate for the long awaited official opening in October 1996. Photo: James Hardisty
![Ghostly goings on in Hirst's Yard. The haunting image of Woodbine Lizzy, alias Michael Facer, one of the guides for the Leeds Ghosts Guided walk in October 1996.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/QVNIMTIxNzQyMjY5.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
6. Leeds in 1996
Ghostly goings on in Hirst's Yard. The haunting image of Woodbine Lizzy, alias Michael Facer, one of the guides for the Leeds Ghosts Guided walk in October 1996. Photo: Bruce Rollinson