Bradford’s City of Culture finale Brighter Still brings community to the fore

Bradford closed its year as UK City of Culture with Brighter Still, an open‑air finale staged in Myrtle Park that showcased the city’s residents at the heart of its cultural story.

Two performances were planned for the weekend, with the first taking place in nearby Bingley earlier in the week. The winter solstice provided a fitting backdrop for the longest two nights of the year, a time when organizers said the year-long program would culminate in a moment of local pride. Each show sold about 5,000 tickets, and the weekend’s run was described as one of the programme’s largest community participation events, featuring more than 250 local performers alongside professional dancers, musicians and choirs. A community cast of about 90 Bradford residents, aged eight to 76, joined the production to move, sing, and narrate stories drawn from the life experiences of the city’s people.

Emily Lim, co‑director of Brighter Still, said those who took part had "done themselves and their city incredibly proud". The show, described by organizers as a dynamic tapestry of movement, music and spoken word, aimed to weave personal stories into a broader Bradford narrative as the year drew to a close. Saturday’s performance was also available to watch on BBC iPlayer, extending the reach of a citywide collaboration that had become a hallmark of Bradford 2025.

Bradford’s year as City of Culture was notable for its breadth, including around 5,000 events described by organizers as bold and brilliant. The city centre’s foot traffic rose by about a quarter over the year, and the programme’s footprint extended across urban and rural parts of West Yorkshire.

Gavin Wood, who participated in Brighter Still, said taking part was emotionally fulfilling. "I’m Bradford born and bred and incredibly proud of my roots," he said. "It’s a beautiful place to live, and I feel like the City of Culture is helping the city turn its narrative around toward a more positive outlook."

Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, described Brighter Still as a "dynamic reflection of Bradford, honouring our heritage, marking the present and looking to the future". She added that the finale would place local people center stage where they belong, a statement echoed by city officials who have long framed culture as a driver of civic identity.

The city’s year-long celebration was funded through a mix of government support, local funding and ticketed activity. It is estimated that the overall cost of Bradford’s City of Culture year was about £51 million, with audiences reaching roughly three million people across the programme. Major grants included £15 million from the government, £10 million from Bradford Council and £6 million from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, underscoring a broad public commitment to the cultural initiative.

Darren Henley, chief executive of the Arts Council England, said the year showcased how culture can change lives. "If you were born here in Bradford and are a young person, look at the possibility of what you can do now," he said. "You can be born in West Yorkshire, you can come here, you can study here, you can do your job here, you can be creating things that will be radiating out across the world and that’s something that’s really exciting."

West Yorkshire mayor Tracey Brabin emphasized the lasting legacy the year could bring for young people. "It’s about giving young people the confidence," she said. "We’ve heard youngsters on the stage tonight speaking in front of thousands of people. They may never be actors, but they’ll be better paramedics, entrepreneurs because they’ve got that confidence and the identity that they were part of something so magical."

Alongside Brighter Still, Bradford’s City of Culture year featured other marquee moments. A stage production of The Railway Children was staged inside an engine shed, David Hockney’s work was recreated using drone technology, and local brass bands played a prominent role in citywide celebrations. These highlights, along with the turnout and the range of venues, helped turn Bradford into a testing ground for how culture can mobilize communities and create a sense of shared purpose across a broad geographic area.

The year’s closing moment comes as Bradford’s cultural year winds toward its final Sunday, with the city and organizers framing the end as a springboard for ongoing cultural engagement. Officials stressed that the year’s legacy would extend beyond the performances themselves, pointing to increased local participation in the arts, new partnerships, and a strengthened sense of identity among Bradford’s residents. The events team highlighted the community‑driven approach as a defining feature of the Bradford 2025 programme, one that sought to put everyday residents at the center of major cultural outputs.

In acknowledging the breadth of the year’s program, Shanaz Gulzar emphasized that Brighter Still was designed to celebrate heritage while looking forward. "We complete this remarkable year by putting local people centre stage where they belong," she said. As the final curtain fell on Bradford’s year as City of Culture, organizers and participants alike looked to the future with optimism about continued cultural investment and the potential for Bradford to carry the momentum of 2025 into subsequent years.