Bradford 2025 reveals Brighter Still as City of Culture finale

Bradford has set out plans for the closing event of its UK City of Culture year, in which hundreds of local residents will perform.

Brighter Still will be staged in Myrtle Park, Bingley, at sunset on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 December, the year’s two longest nights. The show will celebrate Bradford’s people, stories and culture and treat the winter solstice as a time of hope and fresh starts.

The programme takes in BMX riders, bhangra and bassline, gospel choirs and folk song, poetry and pompoms.

Community cast

Local dance groups will appear alongside nine professional dancers. They include young people from Stage 84 (Yorkshire School of Performing Arts), Freestyle Fanatics and X-Plosion, a bhangra group from women’s fitness club Club Ekta, and the Luvabulls, the cheerleading squad of the Bradford Bulls.

It will be one of the largest community participation events of the year, with more than 250 local performers. A community cast of 90 Bradford residents aged eight to 76 will work with dancers, musicians and choirs.

More than a third of the performers are children and young people, reflecting a district where over a quarter of residents are under 20. Alongside dancing, the community cast will help create and narrate the show, drawing on the life experiences of Bradford people.

The creative team is led by director Emily Lim, a community theatre specialist and former head of the National Theatre’s Public Acts programme, with co-director and choreographer Dan Canham. Text is by Bradford-born poet and author Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, stage and set design by Mydd Pharo, and music by Benji Bower and Warren “Flamin Beatz” Morgan-Humpreys.

‘Powered by Bradford’s people’

Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said: “Every step of the way, Bradford 2025 has been powered by Bradford’s people. Communities across the district have taken part in performances, hosted events, attended arts workshops, and shared their skills, stories and creativity with great energy and generosity.

“We complete this remarkable year by putting local people centre stage where they belong. Brighter Still will be a dynamic reflection of Bradford, honouring our heritage, marking the present, and looking to the future. As we approach the culmination of Bradford’s time as UK City of Culture, we invite everyone to gather, to celebrate, and to ensure Bradford is seen bolder and brighter than ever.”

Tickets for both shows cost £2, with under 16s and over 60s going free. They go on sale online at 12pm on Monday 1 December and can also be bought from the Ticket & Info Hub in Bradford’s Centenary Square.

Bradford 2025 is delivered by Bradford Culture Company, a charity backed by HM Government, Bradford Metropolitan District Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, with National Lottery funding through Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund, and support from Spirit of 2012 and the British Film Institute, along with various trusts, foundations and corporate sponsors.