Farewell to Bradford City of Culture year

Say goodbye, everyone. A highlight of the year was this adaptation of The Railway Children, performed in the train shed of the railway featured in the famous movie. Pic: James Glossop

Bradford marks the end of its year as UK City of Culture this weekend with a spectacular (and sold out) closing event - Brighter Still in a Bingley Park, featuring hundreds of local people, the last in a series of events that has showcased the history and modern culture of Bradford. Early estimates suggest audiences for the year's events in excess of three million people.

Over the past 12 months the programme has featured events across many art-forms, including a 36-hour journey of sound with musicians by Jeremy Deller, Charles Hazlewood and the Paraorchestra; hosting the Turner Prize; recreating art artworks by Bradford-born David Hockney in sky-borne drones; a five star theatre production of The Railway Children; a community cookbook and a curry festival; film screenings at Ilkley Lido and Thornton Viaduct, and a celebration of

the brilliance of British brass bands.

Aerial expertise was seen in major circus spectacle Bloom in Shipley. Pic: David Lindsay

The newly created pop-up venue Loading Bay has hosted comedy, exhibitions, spoken-word and theatre productions, as well as the world premiere of an immersive experience celebrating British Asian youth culture in the 1980s-90s.

Touring venue The Beacon, also built specially for the year, travelled to four parks across the district with a programme created by Bradford residents.

Bradford 2025 has included a world-class cultural programme attracting over millions of people; over 5,000 events across all 30 wards of the district, with more than 650 local artists and organisations commissioned or involved in the year-long programme.

Over 87,000 people have been involved in participatory projects, appearing in shows such as the opening event RISE and circus performance Bloom, taking part in Our Patch, and joining workshops. Over 5,500 people have benefited from training, artist development, mentoring and paid work placements.

More than 160 schools and education settings have taken part in specially-created projects such as Sing, Dance, Leap and organised trips to shows and exhibitions.

A visit from King Charles and Queen Camilla celebrated the people and heritage of the district

The year also saw the city host the Turner Prize at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery - which has seen attendance double over the past 12 months, while another venue, the Impressions Gallery, has also seen visitors double thanks to exhibitions such as Nationhood: Memory & Hope by Ethiopian artist Aida Muluneh, and Make Yourself at Home put together by New Focus: Bradford Young Curators.

Bradford has enjoyed a tourism boost during the year, with a significant rise in overnight stays, a 29% increase in journeys between Bradford and London and the Southeast on LNER services, and the city centre has been visited by 25% more people than in previous years.

Meanwhile more than 30 cultural organisations in Bradford have benefited from capital investment to improve buildings and facilities, while more than 110 groups have received grants for creative activity.

Over 80% of people in a survey said Bradford 2025 had a positive impact on their wellbeing, while eight in ten residents surveyed said the year made them proud of their city.

Local cultural gems have benefited from the year too - most notably investment in the first visitor toilets at the Brontë Parsonage Museum and the relocation to more suitable premises for The Peace Museum, which subsequently saw annual visitors increase from 3,000 to over 50,000.

Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025, said “The year has created a powerful new narrative for the city and district, and I'm delighted to see the rise in civic pride as a direct result of our year as UK City of Culture.

"Events have brought communities together and given us a chance to share the rich cultural life of Bradford with the world.

"This year has seen us welcome millions of people and we have laid the foundations for long-term transformation with capital investments, training opportunities, wide-ranging education initiatives, artist-development projects, and of course our cultural programme.”

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