Bradford Live: New £50m venue could be open by autumn after Trafalgar Entertainment set to take over

A new operator for the Bradford Live venue has finally been announced after a “challenging” 12 months that saw the original operators pull out.

And they aim to have the venue open by this Autumn.

Trafalgar Entertainment, which runs 21 venues across the world the Olympia Theatre in London and the Theatre Royal Sydney in Australia, will now take on the city centre venue.

The £50m venue, the former Odeon cinema and Gaumont before that, was due to open as a live music venue last year. But in a shock announcement in September, operators NEC pulled out of the venue, saying it would be “better served by an alternative operator.”

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The former Odeon building in Bradford will reopen as Bradford Live in autumn 2025. Picture: JPI MediaThe former Odeon building in Bradford will reopen as Bradford Live in autumn 2025. Picture: JPI Media
The former Odeon building in Bradford will reopen as Bradford Live in autumn 2025. Picture: JPI Media

The decision left Bradford Council searching for a new operator for what is seen as the biggest regeneration scheme in the city centre.

On Monday afternoon the Council announced that after the completion of a competitive tender process, global live entertainment company Trafalgar Entertainment had been named as the new operator.

Sir Howard Panter, co-founder of the company, said their immediate priority was “supporting and promoting Bradford as the UK City of Culture 2025.” And Lee Craven, founder of Bradford Live, said the venue would be “Bradford’s gift to itself.”

Founded by Sir Howard and Dame Rosemary Squire in 2017, Trafalgar Entertainment is an award winning global live-entertainment business focussed on new productions, venue operations, live music and comedy, events and hospitality, Performing Arts education, ticketing, the distribution and filming of live event cinema and TV live-streaming from David Tennant in Macbeth to Taylor Swift.

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The company will now begin the final fit out of Bradford Live to their specifications and work to develop and launch a programme of live events.

It is expected that the venue will be open by autumn, and Trafalgar has also been in discussion with Bradford Culture Company to agree how the venue can play a role in Bradford’s UK City of Culture programme this year.

The venue will have capacity for 3,000 people seated or 3,500 people standing in the main auditorium as well as other event spaces.

Built in the 1930s, the building closed as a cinema in 2000, and has stood empty ever since.

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After being saved from demolition it has been fully restored, although the £50m cost has been much higher than the original budget of around £25m.

The announcement from the council says: “Trafalgar’s ambitious plans for the venue include full use of all the beautifully restored and reimagined spaces, to include – alongside the best in live music, comedy and other live entertainment – conferences, exhibitions, events, weddings, graduations and banqueting events.” Sir Howard, Joint CEO, Co-founder, and Creative Director at Trafalgar Entertainment, said: “Lee Craven, the team at Bradford Live and Bradford Council have transformed this glorious landmark venue into a modern and truly world-class destination, whilst honouring and preserving its stunning Art Deco heritage. “Bradford is already a thriving, cultural destination, but as the UK’s City of Culture for 2025, Bradford has an even greater future ahead, and we’re excited to be a part of that journey with Bradford Live.”

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