Bradford crowned City of Culture 2025

Bradford has been named the UK’s City of Culture 2025, taking over from previous winner Coventry who nabbed the title in 2021.  

The city will now receive £275,000 from the government to go towards cultural developments and events planned for its takeover in 2025.

A panel of experts, chaired by TV producer and writer Sir Phil Redmond, recommended Bradford for the honour, a decision later approved by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.

Also on the shortlist was County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham which missed out, but for the first time they will receive £125,000 grants to support bidding teams in developing cultural plans laid out in their bids.

Ms Dorries said: ‘Congratulations to Bradford, which is a worthy winner of UK City of Culture 2025.

‘Art and culture should be accessible to everyone and this prestigious title will help Bradford deliver unforgettable events for communities on their doorstep.

‘There was stiff competition and I thank County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough for their excellent bids.

‘Coventry has shown us how powerful the UK City of Culture title is at boosting investment, attracting visitors and leaving a lasting legacy for local people.’

Bradford boasts a number of cultural assets including the Bronte Passage, Victorian village and old mill, Saltaire, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the National Science and Media Museum.

It is also one of the youngest city’s in the UK, with a quarter of its population aged below 16, and one of the most deprived areas in the country.

2021 figures showed that 30.4% of children in the city lived in a household where at least one benefit was being claimed, when the average in England was 15.3%.

Sir Phil Redmond said: ‘The selection is never about whether one bid is better than another, it is more that one bid has the potential to make a bigger and deliverable impact. For 2021 we asked Coventry to raise the bar previously set by Derry-Londonderry 2013 and then raised by Hull 2017. Challenged by the pandemic, Coventry have certainly done that and I am looking forward to seeing how far the cultural bar can be raised in BD25.’

Bradford has already secured £20m in Levelling Up funding to invest in the Squire Lane Wellbeing and Enterprise Centre, while a £4m government grant will transform Bradford Odeon into a 4,000 seat live music venue.

The city’s bid was chosen for its celebration of the area, its diversity and its focus on creating new opportunities through engaging with local artists and residents and renewing local pride.

Images: City of Bradford MDC