Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 is a designation given to

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, between 2025 and 2029 by the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

(DCMS). The designation means that Bradford gains access to funding to improve its

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture starting in 2025 for twelve months. Bradford won the designation on 31 May 2022, winning over bids from

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the nort ...

to become the fourth

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...

since the programme began in 2013, following

Derry~Londonderry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern ...

, Hull, and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, as well as the second in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. The 2025 bidding contest was launched on 29 May 2021, and was the first contest since 2013 open to local areas in the United Kingdom receiving twenty bids by July 2021.

Background

UK City of Culture is a designation given to a different city every four years by the DCMS with the aim of using the arts to celebrate and regenerate forgotten areas.

Bidding and selection process

By the deadline at the end of July 2021, it was reported that a record number of twenty cities and areas had submitted bids to hold the title of UK City of Culture 2025, a quarter of which are from Wales. The then

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department f ...

Oliver Dowden Oliver James Dowden (born 1 August 1978) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since October 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015. Dowden served in the Johnson gover ...

MP, stated that the sheer number of applicants for the title was a "testament to the huge success of City of Culture". The 2025 bidding competition has allowed for the first time, bids from regions and areas, including groups of towns across one or multiple local authorities, and even across the borders of the constituent countries. Those long-listed have been awarded £40,000 to support their bid progressing to the next stage of the competition. The holder was set to be announced in December 2021, but was postponed due to the number of applicants, with a longlist released on 8 October 2021, a final shortlist of bidders was released on 18 March 2022. Bradford was announced as the 2025 holder by Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,

Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, she ...

on 31 May 2022, winning over the other shortlisted bids from

and

which all received £125,000 as runners-up. The competition was judged by Sir

Phil Redmond Sir Philip Redmond (born 10 June 1949) is an English television producer and screenwriter from Huyton, England. He is known for creating the television series ''Grange Hill'', '' Brookside'' and ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Redmond took the 11- ...

, chair of the expert advisory panel for the UK City of Culture 2025 competition, who led visits to each bidder prior to the final announcement.

Notes

References

{{UK City of Culture, state=collapsed Events in the United Kingdom 2025 in the United Kingdom Arts festivals in England

Background

Bidding and selection process

See also

Notes

References