The New Comedy Awards, Contains Strong Language poetry festival, a Countryfile special, and a BBC Bitesize Schools Tour are just some of the creative and cultural highlights to come from the BBC to mark Bradford as the 2025 UK City of Culture.
The city of Bradford has had a long and distinguished history of writers, artists and other cultural icons. The Brontë sisters, David Hockney (who has a permanent exhibition at Salt’s Mill in Saltaire), JB Priestley and John Braine (one of the Angry Young Men novelists of the late 50s) all hailed from Bradford. It’s hardly surprising therefore, that Bradford has been announced as the UK’s next City of Culture for the year 2025.
Diversity of talent
More recently, the vibrant and diverse cultural mix of the city has led to the creation of even more talent to be displayed by Bradfordians. Over the course of the year, there are over a thousand events promised – many of them free. As well as the events in conjunction with the BBC, these include Four Nations: A Portrait of Us – a new nationwide photography project co-commissioned by Impressions Gallery and Bradford 2025, and a parade of towering red giraffes on 24 August!
Keighley-based artist and producer Shanaz Gulzar has recently been appointed as the chair of Bradford City of Culture. She explained a little more about what will be happening:
“The Bradford district covers 144 square miles and our projects are district-wide. One of our projects is working with the Royal Institute of British Architects to design a peripatetic venue so we can take as much as possible out to people in the region. We’re also working with communities to give them agency to create their own work and showcase their own projects.
“We hope that the legacy for the project will be increased confidence, creativity and an infrastructure that will continue to provide opportunities in arts and culture for the people of Bradford.”
Film and TV
Bradford has also had a long relationship with film and TV production. The National Science and Media Museum (temporarily closed) has showcased the art and technology of visual media for over 40 years. Bradford 2025 will be showcasing film and TV production, with some of its partners. Adeel Amini, from Screen Yorkshire, outlined some of their plans:
“We have partnered with Bradford 2025 to make three short films, produced by Hollie Bryan. We’ve already held workshops with the people who are going to be part of it, advising on pitching, writing, resilience and well-being. I’d like to see sustained investment in the region, to ensure that these creative activities can continue after 2025.”
The BBC is the official broadcast partner of Bradford 2025. Katrina Bunker, BBC head of Yorkshire, confirmed that the BBC is championing local voices and working with local communities:
“We’re bringing national programmes to Bradford. Programmes like Country File and Bargain Hunt will be set in the city and region, so people here can see their city represented. We’re also connecting with new talent – for example, through BBC Bitesize who will be offering every mainstream secondary school in the Bradford district the Bitesize Careers Tour.
“The BBC New Comedy Awards will also be part of Bradford 2025, with the grand final being hosted in Bradford. We want to show young people that jobs in the cultural industries can be done in Bradford – you don’t necessarily have to move down to London to do this sort of work.”
A very exciting year
This view is supported by Tim Davie, director general of the BBC. Davie has previously voiced his commitment investing in local creative economies, with the Across the UK strategy.
“Bradford is home to vibrant, authentic story-telling and proud multi-cultural communities”, he told us. “We’ll be drawing on this rich history to bring people together through the joy and celebration of the arts, poetry, film, comedy and much, much more. It’s a huge honour to be a part of a legacy that will no doubt attract thousands of tourists and millions of pounds of investment to this outstanding city.”
Katrina Bunker added: “2025 promises to be an extraordinary year for Bradford. The BBC is the best place to capture all the excitement, ambition and energy that UK City of Culture will bring to the region. We’ll have coverage of the build-up and all the big moments across our online services, radio and TV. It’s going to be a very exciting year.”
If you’re interested in volunteering or just finding out more about the Bradford City of Culture 2025, click here.
