Bradford crowned UK City of Culture for 2025 as celebrations begin in the city centre

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced the winner on The One Show, after receiving a recommendation from a panel of judges, and hundreds celebrated in Bradford after gathering to watch the announcement on a big screen at City Park.

She 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."

Bradford 2025, which prepared the city's bid for the competition, said people will be able to enjoy more than 1,000 performances and events – that celebrate Bradford's "unique heritage and character" and feature work from 365 artists – during the year of culture.

It also said the coveted title could bring an extra £700m of investment to the district, create around 3,000 jobs and attract 1.1m visitors.

Bradford was one of 20 locations that submitted a bid to become the next UK City of Culture and it had been competing against County Durham, Wrexham and Southampton since the final shortlist was announced in March.

Shanaz Gulzar, chair of Bradford 2025, said: “This fantastic result is down to the ambition, belief and hard work of thousands of people across the district who were behind our bid.

“We are thrilled that Bradford district has been chosen as the next UK City of Culture.

“This is a huge opportunity to celebrate our extraordinary cultural heritage and for our young, diverse population – who have been so involved in shaping our bid – to become leaders and changemakers and begin a new chapter in our story.

“Bradford has been overlooked and underestimated for so long – it’s now our time to shine.”

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said "no city deserves this more".

She added: "The entire year will be a fitting showcase for the incredible cultural and artistic talent in this amazing city.

"The City of Culture judging process has also helped us to highlight the breadth of talent and the vibrant cultural offer throughout West Yorkshire. There’s no doubt we have some of the

finest creative and cultural talent, events, festivals, and destinations anywhere in the UK.”

The 10-person panel of judges, which is led by screenwriter Sir Phil Redmond, visited the four locations which made it into the final earlier this month and conducted interviews with bid teams last week at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport offices in London, during the final stage of the competition.

Head judge Sir Phil has previously said the panel was impressed by the “very vibrant” city of Bradford during their visit and people there have shown “a real hunger” for the title.

Bradford will now take over from Coventry, which has held the title since 2021. Other previous winners include Derry-Londonderry in 2013 and Hull in 2017.

Since winning the title, Coventry has seen more than £172m invested in funding music concerts and the UK’s first permanent immersive digital art gallery, as well as a further £500 million for the city’s regeneration, the Government said.