City marks 30th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre

Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosniak member, Denis Becirovic, at Potocari Memorial Cemetery in Srebrenica in 2024

Bradford will mark the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre with a week of special events in and around the city centre.

The Srebrenica massacre, recognised by the UN as a genocide, saw the systematic killing of more than 8,000 Muslim Bosnian men and young boys in less than a week during the Bosnian war in July 1995.

Bradford was the first city in the UK to lay a Srebrenica memorial stone, which is in the Peace Garden behind City Hall.

Councillor Sabiya Khan of Bradford Council said: "On the 30th anniversary of the genocide it's more important than ever we remember the victims of Srebrenica."

She added: "I'd like to thank all our partners who have worked with us to put together this programme of events and would encourage members of the public to attend as many as possible during this important week."

Events to be held include:

• The Srebrenica memorial flag will be raised at a ceremony from 10:00 BST on Monday in Centenary Square. Members of Bradford's Bosnian community will attend.

• On Tuesday, in partnership with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, there will be a special performance of Aida Haughton and Susan Moffat's play My Thousand Year Old Land (a Song of BiH), which tells the story of the genocide through the eyes of women whose lives were changed by the deaths of men in their communities. A performance for schools will take place from 13:15 BST to 14:15 BST at Loading Bay followed by a performance for the public at 18:00 BST. The event is free and tickets can be booked via the Bradford 2025 website.

• The Council for Mosques is hosting a special commemoration event at the Khidmat Centre, from 17:00-19:00 BST on Wednesday. This will be a day of reflection, remembrance and solidarity. The event is free but places need to be booked on Eventbrite.

• The annual civic service will take place on Friday 11 July, the anniversary of the massacre. The service will take place in the Ballroom at Bradford Live. Guests will include Smajo Beso, CEO of the Bosnian Genocide Educational Trust. Doors will open at 10:30 BST for an 11:00 start and the event is expected to finish at 12:30 BST.

• In partnership with the National Science and Media Museum, a Balkan film weekend will take place 11-13 July.

Lord Mayor of Bradford, Mohammed Shafiq, said: "In Bradford we have always worked towards being a place of sanctuary, tolerance and acceptance of all religions, cultures and creeds.

"The atrocities of the Bosnian war are a dark episode in the world's history, and we need to commemorate and mark this event so people can learn for the future and the mistakes of the past are not repeated."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.