Bradford City of Culture: £3m boost to 'turbocharge' venues

Bradford will host the year-long arts festival in 2025

A £3m fund to boost cultural venues in Bradford ahead of its City of Culture celebrations in 2025 has been announced by the council.

It will allow for improvement works making venues "more accessible for visitors", organisers said.

The news comes exactly a year after the city beat County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham to win the title.

A competition for architects and designers to create a temporary touring venue has also been launched.

Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025, said: "The year of delivery is 2025, but we're trying to create opportunities to develop and grow over the next two years.

"We're trying to make sure the district's cultural scene is fit for purpose - we're trying to keep the momentum going.

"Bradford has its cultural plan, and 2025 is going to turbocharge it."

Dan Bates and Shanaz Gulzar, who are behind Bradford's City of Culture celebrations, said the bid helped secure funding for a number of Bradford institutions

There will be two grant schemes - a small-scale one of up to £5,000 each and a larger-scale scheme offering a minimum of £50,000 - and will be delivered by organisers Bradford 2025.

A new temporary touring performance venue will be located in parks across the district during 2025, enabling larger events to take place in local communities.

The architectural competition is expected to open next week.

Dan Bates, executive director of Bradford 2025, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We want to support the cultural infrastructure across the district.

"We want to be able to use all the venues we can, as well as creating more of them. Money might go to a building that has no public access.

Bradford will follow previous title holders Derry/Londonderry, Hull and Coventry

"It will give spaces in the district the opportunity to be venues for 2025."

She said: "We've already supported 35 local artists and organisations to develop new work and with Bradford Council we're encouraging more large-scale commissions for this November's Bradford is LIT.

"The biannual light festival is growing into a standout date in the cultural calendar and will be an important moment in our lead-up to 2025."

The pair said the successful City of Culture bid helped secure funding for a number of Bradford institutions in the past year.

In March, Asian arts centre Kala Sangam secured nearly £5m to create a 200-seat theatre space, five new studios and a new entrance to improve accessibility.

The National Science and Media Museum was awarded £3m from the National Lottery to help fund a huge refurbishment.

The former Odeon cinema, which has been converted into Bradford Live, a new 4,000 capacity music venue for the district, is expected to open in 2024.