More Bradford City of Culture 2025 funding secured

The extra money is expected to be approved on Thursday

Bradford's UK City of Culture year is set to receive an additional £6m of funding ahead of 2025's celebration.

The extra money is expected to be approved at a West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) meeting on Thursday.

A report ahead of the meeting said the current estimated cost of putting on Bradford 2025 was just under £42.5m.

About £36.5m of that had already been secured from public and private sector contributions.

The £6m forms part of a wider WYCA pledge to support the creative sector and will be paid for by a government grant.

News of the investment followed a pledge by local leaders and company bosses across the North of England to commit to a special new plan to boost the region's creative industries.

Last year the government also confirmed it was putting an extra £10million into Bradford to help deliver the year of culture.

Support has also come from Arts Council England and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The latter said it was awarding £4.95m to develop a programme of activities to bring the diverse heritage of the city to the fore during the year-long celebrations.

About 1,000 performances will take place in 2025, which it is hoped will attract 15.5 million visitors and bring an additional visitor spend of £136.9m into the local economy over the year.

Estimates predict the year of culture will bring £389m of growth for Bradford, creating 6,845 new jobs by 2030.

The year of events will be put on by The Bradford Culture Company Ltd, which was set up specifically for that role, with oversight from Bradford Council.

The WYCA is also expected to approve a further £500,000 in funding at the meeting to boost tourism as part of the newly established Local Visitor Economy Partnership for West Yorkshire.