Bradford 2025 shows why investing in culture matters for people and places: Darren Henley

At Arts Council England, we are proud to support this award, which celebrates the power of culture to drive tourism and create artistic and economic opportunities for local residents.

This year’s Culture Award went to Bradford Literature Festival which is set to work in collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture to produce literary activity across the district.

It promises to be an incredible year for Bradford, as the first district to hold the status of UK City of Culture.

In fact, as I witnessed in early January when attending RISE, the City of Culture opening event, Bradford has a huge amount to celebrate.

The evening was an incredible testament to the city’s creativity and community.

Gathered alongside thousands of people, I was captivated by stories and poems and wowed by music, magic and dance. Seeing professional performances alongside so much local talent was particularly inspiring.

Looking back, I’m still struck by the sense of possibility in the crowd. Bradford was having its chance to step into the spotlight – and the year was only just warming up.

Throughout 2025, the Bradford district will host around 1,000 events developed in collaboration with local organisations, artists, creatives and young people. It’s estimated that the programme will attract 3.3 million new visitors, injecting nearly £140 million into the local economy over the year.

Programme highlights include DRAW!, a free-to-enter nationwide drawing project inspired and supported by Bradford-born artist David Hockney. There’s also a production of The Railway Children, staged on the historic Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, where both film adaptations were shot. And I don’t think there could be a more breathtaking setting for Opera North’s new free sound walk, Earth & Sky, than the wild moors above Haworth.

The programme is also underpinned by a commitment to communities. For example, the touring venue, The Beacon, will bring cultural experiences directly to neighbourhoods across the district, making sure everyone has a chance to get

involved.

None of this would be possible without sustained public investment. Since Bradford was named UK City of Culture in 2022, Arts Council England has invested £31 million in the district, supporting cultural organisations and individual artists and practitioners from and based in the district, such as Common/Wealth and The Javaad Alipoor Company, who are both featured in the UK City of Culture programme.

Our investment also includes £5 million of National Lottery funding for the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture programme itself: a great reminder of how playing the National Lottery helps support so many of our nation’s great cultural institutions and good causes.

Complementing this funding are investments by Bradford Metropolitan District Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and a number of organisations, trusts, foundations and corporate sponsors.

We are also administering a £15 million DCMS investment, which is central to realising the huge ambition for the

year.

We know how this type of investment pays long-term dividends. Hull’s time as the 2017 City of Culture helped highlight the city’s vibrant cultural offer across the UK and beyond. It also created a new sense of confidence about what was possible and forged strategic partnerships and long-lasting collaborations.

That momentum still drives projects like the transformational multimillion-pound Hull Maritime City development. Building on the regeneration that began during City of Culture, the initiative will ensure that Hull’s incredible history continues to be told, creating a world-class visitor attraction for the future.

In fact, all corners of Yorkshire are brimming with examples of where arts and culture help underpin the visitor economy and provide enriching experiences for local people.

Take, for example, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which attracts around 300,000 visitors annually to its beautiful site just outside Wakefield. Meanwhile, other organisations we support, such as Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, Cast in Doncaster and Hull Truck Theatre, provide world-class performances and draw visitors year-round.

So, as we look ahead to Bradford 2025, I’m excited to get involved, witness the district’s creativity and hear its stories. And I feel proud that Arts Council England has been a steadfast partner in Bradford’s journey to date, supporting culture to thrive and inspire.

After all, investing in culture means investing in people, places and possibilities.

For Bradford, this means a stellar year of events – and, over the long term, an even brighter future.

Darren Henley is Chief Executive of Arts Council England