Praised for being a young and vibrant city with a rich heritage ‘Bradford Awarded City of Culture 2025’ live on BBC1’s One Show by Secretary of Culture Nadine Dorries on May 31, 2022.
Bradford is already known as an industrial revolution boom city that produced wool and other textiles for the world – and holds a deserved reputation for having some of the finest curry restaurants in the UK.
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How much does Bradford get for being a City of Culture?
The announcement ‘Bradford Awarded City Of Culture 2025’ means £270,000 in initial funding to assist in developing plans and also a £3 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
A UK City of Culture is chosen every four years. Coventry’s reign as UK City of Culture ended on 31 May 2022.
When the announcement ‘Bradford Awarded City of Culture 2025’ was made, congratulations came in from all over the world, including from the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
In Which Part of England is Bradford?
Bradford is in historic Yorkshire, northern England. The population of Bradford being 533,135 (June 2022).
Yorkshire is England’s largest county and has a total population of 5,526,350 people, surprisingly to some, it’s larger than Scotland’s population of 5,466,000.
Distances by car to Bradford Awarded City of Culture 2025 from other UK cities are:
- 39 miles from York to Bradford(City of Culture 2025)
- 10 miles from Leeds to Bradford(City of Culture 2025)
- 8 miles from Halifax to Bradford(City of Culture 2025)
- 36 miles from Manchester to Bradford(City of Culture 2025)
- 67 miles from Liverpool to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 77 miles from Chester to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 68 miles from Hull to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 100 miles from Newcastle to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 125 miles from Coventry to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 125 miles from Birmingham to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 197 miles from Edinburgh to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
- 100 miles from London to Bradford (City of Culture 2025)
Bradford Railway Stations
Bradford has two railway stations, Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square.
- Bradford Interchange consists of a railway station and a combined bus and coach station. Bradford Interchange is on the Caldervale Line. Trains from Bradford Interchange run every 15 minutes between Bradford Interchange and Leeds, and hourly to York.
- Forster Square Railway Station – most services to and from Forster Square Railway Station use electrified trains on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.
Bradford Airport
The nearest airport is Leeds/Bradford Airport – 9 miles from Bradford city centre and 7 miles from the centre of Leeds. Leeds/Bradford airport holds the title of England’s highest airport with an elevation of 681 feet (207 metres).
Bradford Attractions Include
- National Science & Media Museum
- Curry Capital of Britain: 200+ Asian Restaurants
- Bradford Alhambra Theatre
- Lister Park
- Bronte Parsonage Museum
- Thornton, Birthplace of Bronte Sisters
- Bradford Industrial Museum
- Bolling Hall
- Bradford Cathedral
- Victorian Architecture
- Bradford City Park
- Cartwright Hall
- Peace Museum
- Peel Park
- St George’s Hall – seats 1,500+ people
- The Broadway Shopping Centre
- East Riddlesden Hall
- Salts Mill – Heritage, David Hockney Art, Dining and Shops
- Cliffe Castle Museum
- Little Germany
- Saltaire, World Heritage Village
- Shipley Glen – 1895 Working Cable Tramway
- Ilkley Town
- Haworth Village
- Bradford Ice Skating Arena
- Keighley Town
- Bradford’s Ale Trail
- Manningham Library
- Bradford Festival
Bradford Awarded City Of Culture 2025: What are the Benefits?
Shanaz Gulzar the Chair of Bradford 2025 and her team estimate the UK City of Culture 2025 title will bring an extra £700m into the Bradford district, creating 7,000 jobs and attracting about extra 1.1 million visitors.
Bradford 2025 plans to feature more than 1,000 new performances and events including 365 artist commissions, a series of major arts festivals and major national and international collaborations.
The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford – entry is free. Book here
Jo Quinton Tulloch, Director of the National Science and Media Museum said on hearing the news of Bradford Awarded City Of Culture 2025
“It will be transformational, not only for the museum but for the region. We at the museum have a multi-million pound capital programme for two new galleries to showcase our amazing collections in ways that would have not been possible before.”
Bradford Alhambra Theatre
Bradford is a Young and Vibrant City
26.3% of the Bradford District population is aged under 18 – one of the youngest populations in Europe.
Bradford City of Culture Themes
- Coming of Age Party: In 2025, 30,000 people in the Bradford will turn 18 years old.
- Welcome Home Sexy: There has been a tiny bit of graffiti to be seen approaching Bradford Interchange since the 1990s.
So impressed on seeing this memorable message, Manifest Group, a London based advertising and marketing agency, that they have integrated the Welcome Home Sexy into their corporate philosphy, from onboarding and beyond.
Manifest Group – Welcome Home Sexy
There’s No Place Like Bradford
Bradford has six unique areas which can offer distinctive experiences
- City centre: perhaps take in a curry then a West End show at the Alhambra Theatre
- Haworth: walk in the footsteps of the Bronte Sisters
- Ilkley: take an invigorating walk on Ilkley Moor ‘Bah’t ‘at’ (it means without a hat!)
- Saltaire: enjoy the UNESCO Saltaire Village and the David Hockney exhibitions
- Keighley: home of Taylor’s Brewery and their championship beers
- Bingley: see the steep 5 rise locks on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal
There are two Unesco sites in Bradford: Saltaire a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Bradford, which is the first UNESCO City of Film.
So, in Bradford you can enjoy two UNESCO sites, amazing countryside combined with the former home of literary greats, alongside a city full of a rich and varied mix of cultures: It’s a deserved award – Bradford Awarded City of Culture 2025!
Famous People Born in Bradford
Many more Bradford will grow to be famous in years to come, but here is a list of a few who were born in Bradford that you may have already heard of:
- David Hockney – Artist: Born in Bradford July 9, 1937
- Kimberley Walsh – Singer, Musician, Actor: Born in Bradford November 20, 1981
- Zayn Malik – Singer: Born in Bradford January 12, 1993
- Gareth Gates – Pop Idol Singer-songwriter: Born in Bradford 12 July, 1984
- Dynamo Steven Frayne – Magician: Born in Bradford 17 December 1982
- J. B. Priestley – Novelist, Playwright, Broadcaster: Born in Bradford Sept 13, 1894
- Kiki Dee – Singer, Actor: Born in Bradford March 6, 1947
- Claire King – Emmerdale and Bad Girls Actor: Born in Bradford 10 January, 1962
- George Layton – Doctor in the House Actor: Born in Bradford 2 March, 1943
- Natalie Anderson – The Royal & Emmerdale: Born in Bradford 24 October 1981
- Timothy West – Actor: Born in Bradford October 20, 1934
- Fabian Delph – Premier League Footballer: Born in Bradford 21 November 1989
- Jonny Bairstow – IPL Cricket Player: Born in Bradford September 26, 1989
- Anita Rani – TV Presenter: Born in Bradford October 25, 1977
- Ade Edmondson – Actor and Comedian: Born in Bradford January 24, 1957
