• Events have taken place in every ward in the Bradford District, covering 141 square miles across West Yorkshire from the city centre to the wild moors 

• Over 40,000 local people have participated in Bradford 2025 activity so far  

• More than 500 local artists and organisations have been involved in the programme 

• Major exhibitions and performances still to come – including a site-specific adaptation of The Railway Children, large-scale free outdoor-art festivals and Turner Prize 2025 

• New openings for the summer include Bradford Live, Darley Street Market and National Science and Media Museum’s Sound & Vision galleries 

As Bradford heads into a packed summer programme for its year as UK City of Culture, it celebrates a transformative period of cultural events, civic pride and unprecedented engagement. 

 Early figures estimate that around 1.1 million people have experienced Bradford 2025 projects, from sculptures in public parks to artistic interventions in old mills and unexpected outdoor spaces to live music in the streets and on the moors. 

 Events have taken place in every one of Bradford District’s 30 wards covering 141 square miles across West Yorkshire – from Baildon to Wyke and Ilkley to Haworth – bringing dance and theatre, music and film, visual arts and crafts directly to neighbourhoods and community centres. 

 Over 40,000 local people have participated in Bradford 2025 activities, from learning aerial skills and performing in opening event RISE, to taking part in art projects through the Our Patch programme, designed to reduce barriers to cultural participation, as well as volunteering.  

 Eight out of ten local residents surveyed said Bradford 2025 events had made them feel proud of where they live and seven in ten that it has helped them feel connected to others in the community. Nine in ten attendees have rated events as “excellent” or “good”. 

 As one of the youngest cities in the UK, Bradford’s youth have been key to the UK City of Culture’s continued success. Over 100 primary and secondary schools, many home educators and over 11,000 pupils have benefited from Bradford 2025’s education programmes, such as 1,600 teenagers gaining hands-on experience in areas such as audio storytelling, 360º video, games design, and projection mapping. 

 Impressions Gallery saw a 150% increase in visitors for the photography exhibition Nationhood: Memory and Hope, now touring across all four nations of the UK. 

 Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, which welcomes audiences to Turner Prize later this year, has seen a 44% increase in attendees, with more than 39,000 visitors for  exhibitions Fighting to Be Heard and I AM ME. 

 Over 37,000 people have visited City of Culture exhibitions David Hockney: Pieced Together and YOU:MATTER at the National Science and Media Museum, which partially reopened in January and has undergone a £6.8 million transformation. The museum’s new Sound and Vision galleries, which has included capital support from Bradford 2025, open on 10 July. 

 Over 2,000 volunteers are helping make the programme a success, coming from every ward in the Bradford district, the wider West Yorkshire area and further afield, meeting and greeting the public at events and helping out behind the scenes. 

 More than 30 cultural buildings have benefited from capital investment through Bradford 2025, to develop their cultural infrastructure, including creating the ever first toilets at Brontë Parsonage Museum which is soon to celebrate its centenary, the install of a lift at Ilkley Playhouse, refurbishment of Bolton Woods Community Centre, and the relocation to a more suitable premises for The Peace Museum which has seen 30,000 visitors since the move. 

 Over 500 local artists and organisations have been involved in the creation of Bradford 2025 projects – from poets and playwrights to galleries and grassroot clubs, ensuring local talent are helping to shape and tell the stories that celebrate the district’s designation.  

 Through a creative sector development programme with Bradford Producing Hub, more than 4,000 people have benefitted from training programmes such as artist development, mentoring and paid work placements. 

 As the district enters the second half of its cultural year, the momentum continues to build with events that invite everyone from across the UK to celebrate culture. Highlights include  a new stage adaptation of The Railway Children, 2-day outdoor arts extravaganza BD: Festival, the opening of Bradford Live in August welcoming its first public audiences following the King and Queen’s visit earlier in the year,  BBC Proms with Angélique Kidjo, the World Curry Festival and Turner Prize 2025, plus hundreds more shows, exhibitions and free events. 

A full economic and social impact report will be published at the end of 2026.  

Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture is delivered by Bradford Culture Company, a charity supported by public investment from HM Government, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and through National Lottery funding from Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, Spirit of 2012, British Film Institute and a number of trusts, foundations and corporate sponsors.