First images of new Bradford Live venue released

The venue holds 3,800 spectators

The first images showing the inside of Bradford's new £50m music venue have been released.

Bradford Live, built on the site of the city's old Odeon cinema, is scheduled to open later this year ahead of Bradford becoming UK City of Culture in 2025.

The council said construction on the 3,800-seater concert hall had reached "practical completion" and that it was now ready for a "final fit-out".

However, the date of the first event at the venue has still not been announced and there have been questions over whether contracted operator NEC Group remained involved.

The council said it was preparing to hand over the venue to the NEC Group

The council confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that it would commence the "handover" of the building to NEC Group.

The photographs show the completed hallway, stage, stalls, walkways and lighting within the venue.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, the council's portfolio holder for regeneration, hailed completion of the site as a "milestone" achievement and "an exciting day for Bradford".

He added: "Not only has an iconic building been saved but it has been given an incredibly exciting new future as one of the region’s best live entertainment venues.

"Bradford Live will play a crucial role in the regeneration of our city centre, improving Bradford as an entertainment destination, attracting new visitors and offering employment and economic opportunity for our district."

The site of the city's old Odeon cinema has been completely renovated

The venue's future has been plagued by uncertainty this year, after customers who had bought tickets for Bradford Live's opening shows - Bob Marley and Abba tribute acts - were given refunds without explanation.

The NEC Group has repeatedly declined to clarify whether it would still take over the running of the venue, despite repeated approaches from the BBC over recent months.

The costs of renovating the old cinema have also spiralled, from initial estimates of between £22m and £25m.

The cost of the project has spiralled to £50m

The council confirmed on Wednesday that the cost of the project was £50.5m. Nearly £44m of that is funded by the local authority, with the rest coming from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), the government and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Bradford Live is wholly owned by a company with the same name, which is in turn owned by the council.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]