Innovative venues open for Bradford's City of Culture year

Two new venues play a key role in Bradford, the UK City of Culture's year-long programme of events, activities and performances.

The Beacon is a touring venue that will take Bradford 2025 across the district throughout the spring and summer, spending around a month in local locations, such as Wibsey Park, Bowling Park, Cliffe Castle Park, and Lister Park.

At the centre of the Bradford 2025 line-up is a new pop-up venue, the Loading Bay, which opened in March in an empty storage depot on the city's Duke Street. Featuring two performance areas and a gallery spread across three floors, Loading Bay will present everything from gigs and comedy nights to art, immersive theatre and live video games. It is being programmed and operated by Bradford 2025 until December 2025.

Among key events the venue will show immersive and site-specific performances including Public Interest, with true-life stories from young people with experience of being imprisoned for joint enterprise – and a sound-score featuring drill, bassline, grime, afrobeat and house.

Commissioned by Bradford 2025, The Javaad Alipoor Company (TJAC) will also bring contemporary theatre to Loading Bay with the world premiere of Elmet (October 2025). Based on the 2017 Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by Fiona Mozley, the production is conceived and directed by TJAC’s founding Artistic Director, Bradford-raised Javaad Alipoor. Elmet is an explosive story of family and revenge set in the wilds of the West Riding.

Exhibitions commissioned by Bradford 2025 for Loading Bay’s gallery include Frontline 1984/1985, the first exhibition of work by local photographer Victor Wedderburn, which brings Black Bradford in the 1980s vividly back to life. There will also be an exhibition exploring Polish and Ukrainian communities in Bradford and beyond.

As part of Bradford 2025, Marshmallow Laser Feast, the experiential artist collective at the cutting edge of art, science and technology, have created an immersive experience that takes inspiration from Born in Bradford, a major research programme that’s been tracking the lives of more than 40,000 people across the district since 2007.

Bradford 2025 is taking place throughout Bradford District, which covers 141 square miles across West Yorkshire. It pays homage to the area's potent heritage as everything from a former industrial powerhouse to the world’s first UNESCO City of Film.

Bradford 2025 is created for, with and by the people of Bradford – and it has young people at its heart. With more than a quarter of its population aged under 20, Bradford is one of the UK’s youngest cities. Bradford 2025 is proudly reflecting this youth across all aspects of its programme, from education, skills and training projects to new artistic commissions centred on the lives, concerns and ambitions of young people today.

The UK City of Culture is expected to create 6,500 jobs across the district. The Government has provided £5 million cash boost taking total government support for Bradford to £15 million.

More about Bradford 2025.

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