Curators from the 大象传媒 Archives have been on a treasure hunt to bring you this special collection celebrating Bradford and its people through the ages.
Watch this space throughout 2025 as we connect spectacular City of Culture events to the history of Bradford with these gems from the 大象传媒’s vast archive.
Steven Frayne鈥檚 Roots
Steven Frayne (formerly known as Dynamo) has collaborated with award-winning theatre director Kirsty Housley to create a large-scale magical extravaganza to launch Bradford 2025. In this clip from The One Show (2016), he visits his childhood home where the magic began.
Blue Peter Joins the Black Dyke Band
Bradford鈥檚 world-renowned Black Dyke Band will play an important part across the City of Culture year.
In April 2025, they鈥檒l feature at a festival called the 鈥楤ig Brass Blow Out鈥� celebrating contemporary music from the city and across the globe. Here are the Black Dyke Band on Blue Peter in 1970, with presenter John Noakes attempting to play the tuba.
Cottingley Fairies
The opening event of Bradford 2025鈥檚 UK City of Culture programme promises to bring magic to unexpected places.
In this Nationwide interview from 1976, Elsie Wright remembers photographing the Cottingley Fairies, within the Bradford district.
Portraits of a City
Championing the people of Bradford at a grassroots level, will be at the centre of the UK City of Culture 2025 celebrations.
In this clip, Shanaz Gulzar - now Creative Director of Bradford 2025 - helps to track down the local Bradfordians shown in portraits from thirty years ago.