Bradford 2025: UK City of Culture
Citywide cultural programme
Bradford became the UK City of Culture in January 2025, delivering a year-long programme of performances, exhibitions, installations and events across the district.
Bradford became the UK City of Culture in January 2025, delivering a year-long programme of performances, exhibitions, installations and events across the district.
The programme spanned the city centre, neighbourhoods, parks and heritage locations, celebrating Bradford’s cultural identity, creative communities and diverse landscape.
Production Light & Sound supported a range of projects delivered as part of Bradford 2025, working with artists, producers and venues involved in the programme.
Working with Bradford 2025
Projects delivered as part of Bradford 2025 took place in a wide variety of settings, many of them outside traditional event spaces. Our role was to support individual events and installations with lighting, sound and power, adapting the technical approach to suit each location.
This included supporting local artists, touring companies and event producers delivering work across the district.
The challenge
Events within Bradford 2025 presented a mix of technical and logistical challenges:
- Outdoor and public-space locations with no fixed power
- Unconventional sites, including parks, streets and heritage spaces
- Short installation windows and live public environments
- A strong focus on sustainability and low-impact delivery
Each project required careful planning around access, power distribution and audience safety, often in locations not normally used for live events.
How we supported Bradford 2025
Production Light & Sound provided technical support across multiple Bradford 2025 projects, including:
- Lighting and effects for immersive installations and performances
- Sound systems for live music, spoken word and participatory events
- Portable green power, enabling events to run in locations without mains supply
- On-site technical support during installation and live operation
Projects supported included BD: is LIT, a free light festival delivered in collaboration with Bradford 2025, where we supported local artist Cat Scott with Flow (of the Broad Ford): an immersive light installation on Market Street bringing Bradford Beck to life through light and movement.
We also supported live performance projects, such as The Bradford Progress by Paraorchestra, including a sunset concert at Undercliffe Cemetery, supplying sustainable power, lighting and infrastructure to enable the event to take place in a non-traditional setting.
Additional support included family-focused events such as CBeebies Bedtime Stories Day at The Beacon, Wibsey Park, providing lighting and audiovisual support for live storytelling sessions.
Technical approach & equipment
- Green Voltage 5k battery generators for off-grid locations
- Portable lighting systems for outdoor and public-space use
- Atmospheric effects, including upright LED foggers
- Lighting control using ChamSys
- Long cable runs and temporary power distribution
- Experienced technical crew supporting fit-up and live delivery
The outcome
Bradford 2025 brought cultural activity into locations across the district, many of which would not usually host live events or installations.
Our technical support helped artists and producers deliver work safely and reliably in these settings, enabling projects to run as intended while meeting the programme’s sustainability and accessibility goals.
