Bradford Culture Company has announced plans to build on the momentum, impact and national profile created through Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Bradford 2025 welcomed more than three million people to its events last year which took place across the city, towns, villages and green spaces of the district, with audiences coming from all 30 wards, across the UK and around the world. This created tens of thousands of opportunities for local people, and reshaped national perceptions of the city and district.
Bradford Culture Company, the independent charity set up to deliver Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, is continuing as a smaller and more focused operation and in collaboration with local and national partners will create opportunities for local artists and cultural organisations, reinstate its volunteering programme and widen access to culture and creativity for residents.
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Dan Bates, executive director, and Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford Culture Company, said in a statement: “Our time as 2025 UK City of Culture was transformational for Bradford. It strengthened our cultural sector, got people involved in arts and creativity, increased investment and tourism, and most importantly grew pride in our district and brought people together.
|Given the massive public response to our UK City of Culture venues, which were true Bradford 2025 highlights, we’re delighted to share that Loading Bay will be reopening adding to the growing city-centre cultural offer with a programme announced soon, and our plans to bring The Beacon back to Bradford too.
“Delivering the year was an honour and we’re excited to harness the energy of what was created and ensure that Bradford continues to be shaped by arts and culture. The ongoing success of Bradford will be, as our year was, people-powered in collaboration with the artists, organisations and communities that make our district such a fantastic place.”
A key element of Bradford Culture Company’s programme is the reopening of Loading Bay in May. One of the standout successes of last year, the multi-storey venue hosted exhibitions, theatre, international dance, live music, supper clubs, as well as cabarets and comedy nights, welcoming over 40,000 people through its doors.
Bradford Culture Company took over the former warehouse and transformed it for the UK City of Culture, with Loading Bay now home to two performance areas and a gallery spread across three atmospheric floors all helping to bring new energy into the city centre.
The Beacon, a temporary, community-focussed venue, is expected to return in summer 2026, subject to planning permission, with a programme co-created with local people. Expect family takeovers, arts and crafts, live music, poetry and dance. Community ‘find-out-more’ sessions will take place once planning permission is secured.
Bradford Culture Company will also continue its highly successful volunteer programme, supported by funding from Allwyn, creating further opportunities for people to welcome audiences, act as Bradford ambassadors and help deliver events behind the scenes.
Alongside these confirmed plans, Bradford Culture Company is actively fundraising to grow the programme further, creating more opportunities for local artists and ensuring people of all ages across the district can continue to shape and take part in cultural life.
Bradford Culture Company will further embed its Bradford Made history and heritage learning resources into schools and education settings, and in partnership with the wider cultural sector, strengthen pipelines for young people’s progression into the creative industries.
