Crowds gather for magical event kickstarting Bradford’s year as City of Culture
Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo, told the crowd in City Park that he was proud to be from the city.
Bradford’s tenure as the UK City of Culture in 2025 has started with a specular event, including magic from Steven Frayne, who told crowds how proud he was to come from the city.
Thousands of people braved bitter temperatures in City Park to watch a show specially created for the start of the year-long festival of art and creativity and involving more than 200 performers.
The RISE event was devised by Frayne – who was formerly known as Dynamo – with director Kirsty Housley, and the TV magician told the crowd how he started his career doing street magic exactly where they were all standing.
He told them: “All of my random ideas started right here in Bradford.
“If I can do what I have done, we can do anything.
“This year is going to be amazing.”
Frayne said: “Let’s enjoy this moment. I am so proud to be from Bradford.
“Everywhere I go I tell everybody about it and I am never losing this Yorkshire accent.”
Bradford is the fourth UK City of Culture, following Derry-Londonderry in 2013, Hull in 2017 and Coventry in 2021.
It was selected in May 2022 from a field of 20 bidding towns and cities.
RISE involved a music and lights show spread over two stages, including DJs, rappers, aerial performers and acrobatics as well as a community choir and the Airedale Symphony Orchestra perched high in an overlooking building.
Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025, told the PA news agency she loved the “magic, mysticism and mayhem” of the opening event.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I’m super proud. I really can’t wait for people to come and be a part of it.”
Asked about the importance of Bradford 2025, Ms Gulzar said: “It’s huge for the city.
“Bradford’s a northern mill city and like every other northern mill city, it’s had to find its new identity. It brings attention, it brings investment, it brings opportunity and … it’s our time.”
Darren Henley, the chief executive of Arts Council England said: “It may be cold outside but this is the hottest place to be when it comes to arts and culture.
“Bradford has got everything going for it. It’s going to be an amazing year of creativity, artistic events and brilliance that we’ve got coming up. It’s so exciting.”
Mr Henley said: “There’s a big focus on Bradford during this year.
“It’s national focus and it’s an international focus.
“For the people who live here and work here and study here, it changes the story they tell about their place. But, also, the story that those of us that come and visit that place tell about that place.
“It’s all about stories. It’s all about possibility and it’s all about creativity.”
The Bradford 2024 programme starts with a range of events in January, including two major exhibitions opening in the city.
Nationhood: Memory and Hope features new work by acclaimed Ethiopian artist Aida Muluneh and Fighting to be Heard explores connections between the ancient art of calligraphy and boxing, alongside rare items from the Arabic and Urdu collections of the British Library.
This month will also see the launch of DRAW! a nationwide drawing project inspired and supported by Bradford-born artist David Hockney.
The National Science and Media Museum also reopens in January following a major £6 million development and is presenting David Hockney: Pieced Together, which explores the artist’s pioneering use of film and photography.
