Bradford is home to vibrant, authentic story-telling and proud multi-cultural communities. We鈥檒l be drawing on this rich history to bring people together through the joy and celebration of the arts, poetry, film, comedy and much, much more. It鈥檚 a huge honour to be a part of a legacy that will no doubt attract thousands of tourists and millions of pounds of investment to this outstanding city.
Today, the 大象传媒 is announcing it will be an official broadcast partner of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. This means there will be unforgettable coverage across 大象传媒 local and national TV, 大象传媒 iPlayer, Radio, 大象传媒 Sounds and Online bringing audiences together to celebrate Bradford.
The 大象传媒 is also commissioning a raft of new content across arts, education, and factual for the city鈥檚 momentous year.
The 大象传媒 is committed to supporting Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture throughout the year and further announcements about new programming, events and coverage of the celebrations will follow.
大象传媒 Director-General Tim Davie has hailed what he described as a fantastic opportunity to showcase the creativity in Bradford.
He says: 鈥淏radford is home to vibrant, authentic story-telling and proud multi-cultural communities.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be drawing on this rich history to bring people together through the joy and celebration of the arts, poetry, film, comedy and much, much more.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge honour to be a part of a legacy that will no doubt attract thousands of tourists and millions of pounds of investment to this outstanding city.鈥�
Katrina Bunker, 大象传媒 Head of Yorkshire, says: 鈥�2025 promises to be an extraordinary year for Bradford. The 大象传媒 is the best place to capture all the excitement, ambition and energy that UK City of Culture will bring to the region.
鈥淲e鈥檒l have coverage of the build-up and all the big moments across our online services, radio and TV. It鈥檚 going to be a very exciting year.鈥�
Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, says: 鈥淭he UK City of Culture puts all eyes on this incredible region, and with the 大象传媒鈥檚 support we are showing off what a fantastic place it is. Iconic programmes like Countryfile will profile the rurality of the district and the in-depth education programme with Bitesize invests in our young people.
鈥淏ut this is just a taste of what鈥檚 to come and is a mark of the network鈥檚 commitment to Bradford, showcasing its people and the district to the UK and the world.鈥�
大象传媒 programming and events coming to Bradford include:
Children鈥檚 and Education
- 大象传媒 Bitesize is offering every mainstream secondary school in the Bradford district the Bitesize Careers Tour. Organised and delivered by 大象传媒 Education, the careers tour is a chance to inspire the young people of Bradford on their futures. Working closely with the Bradford City of Culture team, the panel style careers roadshow will feature representatives from the organisation and from a variety of local businesses across the district who will share their professional insights. The events will be hosted by a range of 大象传媒 talent including Jasmine Takhar from 大象传媒 Asian Network and Fee Mak from 大象传媒 Radio 1Xtra.
- 大象传媒 Teach is filming for one of their Live Lessons in Bradford in 2025. Live Lessons bring subjects to life for primary schools and feature some of the 大象传媒鈥檚 biggest brands and presenters. Teachers can check the 大象传媒 Teach website for the latest schedule during the autumn term.
- My Life on C大象传媒 on 大象传媒 iPlayer is a critically acclaimed documentary series, featuring incredible children with amazing, inspiring and thought-provoking stories. In 2025, two episodes will focus on children from Bradford. My Life: The Fastest Boy in the World [WT] follows Alfie, a ten-year-old who says his ADHD and autism help him focus when it comes to his passion of motorbike racing as he sets to break a new land speed world record. My Life: Neza Bazi [WT] features Bradford-based 11-year-old Jaleel and 15-year-old Subhaan, part of a new generation of British horse riders taking up NezaBazi, a highly competitive sport which involves galloping at full speed using a long spear to strike wooden pegs in the ground.
TV
- The Read 鈥� Wuthering Heights from 大象传媒 Arts. The Read on 大象传媒 Four and iPlayer brings to life two gothic classics. Emily Bronte鈥檚 Wuthering Heights, the brooding love story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw set in the West Yorkshire Moors will be read by Bradford-born Vinette Robinson and directed by Rachel Lambert; while Robert Louis Stephenson鈥檚 thought-provoking Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will be filmed in Bradford. It will be directed by Yorkshire-born Keiran Stringfellow.
- Dance Passion Bradford on 大象传媒 Four and 大象传媒 iPlayer. Dancers, choreographers and troupes, both professional and enthusiast, use pavements and landmarks as their stages to perform exciting work and showcase Bradford and surrounding areas. Expect all forms of dance to be represented, from ballet to ballroom, contemporary to cutting edge. Following the successes of Dance Passion Liverpool and the forthcoming Dance Passion Swansea, this will be Bradford鈥檚 moment to shine and bring dance to the screen.
- Countryfile on 大象传媒 One and 大象传媒 iPlayer is having a special Bradford episode to explore the cultural history and influence the city has had on its surrounding countryside.
- Bargain Hunt on 大象传媒 One and 大象传媒 iPlayer will be uncovering treasures from the city in a special Bradford episode.
Comedy
- 大象传媒 New Comedy Awards are Britain鈥檚 biggest comedy talent search, with an average of 1,500 entries per year. The 大象传媒 New Comedy Awards are our main pipeline to discovering new diverse comedy voices from all corners of the UK. Entrants are whittled down over a series of non-broadcast showcases, before thirty performers are chosen to perform in six regional heats which are held in towns and cities in Northern Ireland, Wales & the West, the Midlands, the South, the North of England and Scotland. The Grand Final in 2025 will be hosted in Bradford, where six finalists will compete to be crowned 大象传媒 New Comedian 2025 and take home the prize of a scripted commission, 拢1,000 cash, plus a chance to perform live on Comic Relief鈥檚 Red Nose Day 2026.
- 大象传媒 Comedy Grants, now in their second year, are small grants given to 10 groups, organisations or charities from across the UK who are working on inclusion and development projects for those passionate about working in comedy. This year two grants have been ring-fenced for Bradford-based projects; the first is a Bradford comedy group, The South Asian Comedy Collective, which hosts a comedy new material night for members of the local community. With the proceeds of the grant they will be organising a new event called the Mega South-Asian Comedy Night, that will take place in Bradford towards the end of 2024. The second is Theatre in the Mill, a Bradford-based arts organisation committed to developing, supporting and presenting socially responsible art and performance. They will be organising comedy workshops for women to develop their comedy skills and act as an experimental space for developing new comedy tropes.
Audio
- Front Row - on 大象传媒 Radio 4, Nick Ahad is to present a 大象传媒 Radio 4 Front Row Bradford Special in January 2025 to kick off the New Year looking at some of the upcoming highlights of the city of culture and speaking to the artists taking part.
- 大象传媒 Contains Strong Language (CSL) - the UK鈥檚 biggest poetry and performance festival for new writing. As well as bringing key national, local and International 大象传媒 radio programmes to Bradford, the festival will bring together a cast of the most exciting poets from across the UK for a series of free events, workshops and talks across the long weekend 鈥� Thursday September 18 鈥� Sunday 21 September 2025.
- Born in Bradford is a long running annual Radio 4 series following the team behind one of the world鈥檚 most important longitudinal studies. They track thousands of babies born in the city and analyse a range of data collected from them and their families. Now those babies are teenagers and the 大象传媒 team of Winifred Robinson and Sue Mitchell have been with the young people as they enter this new phase of life. The researchers explore a wide range of aspects of mental and physical health and wellbeing. The young people are partners in this, sharing their thoughts about what might help and developing new approaches across all of the city鈥檚 secondary schools. The 大象传媒 has partnered with doctors, parents, teachers, specialists and the 14,000 youngsters to bring unique insights across all groups in this diverse and important city.
大象传媒 Academy
- The 大象传媒 Young Reporter Festival is back for 2025, coming live from Bradford. Over the two days we鈥檒l line up some of the best working in the creative industries particularly from Yorkshire to meet and share their experiences with our young people. We plan to invite script writers, producers, journalists, commissioners, presenters, actors and influencers all giving young people (11-18鈥檚) the low down on what it鈥檚 like working in front and behind the camera and what it takes to succeed in the creative industry. The festival is a partnership between 大象传媒 Academy, 大象传媒 News and 大象传媒 Teach.鈥�
Local
- 大象传媒 Radio Leeds is at the centre of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture 2025 celebrations bringing special programmes and events straight into people鈥檚 homes throughout the year - telling the story of the people of Bradford and uncovering what makes and shapes the city. The most moments will also be available on demand via 大象传媒 Sounds.
- 大象传媒 Look North will be there in the middle of the celebrations throughout Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, delivering the latest news and stories that matter to local audiences and beyond.
- 大象传媒 News Online will be covering the events and moments of the year with the best coverage to be found on bbc.co.uk/Bradford
The 大象传媒 is committed to supporting Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 throughout the year and further announcements about new content, events and coverage of the celebrations will follow.
NS