Will Bradford continue to grow after City of Culture?

Bradford's year as UK City of Culture has come to a close after 5,000 events and three million visitors.

According to organisers, it involved 87,000 people in participatory projects and led to a boost in tourism.

Rental site Airbnb said searches for accommodation in Bradford were up 20% in the first half of 2025.

But what did the city's residents make of the programme? Did it bring the promised financial boost Bradford needed and - most importantly - will it have a lasting legacy?

Zoë Silver runs Salts Mill in Saltaire. The venue played host to We Will Sing, an installation from American artist Ann Hamilton which took over the mill's roof space.

"It was a real highlight and people came from far and wide to see that," she says.

"I think there's been a real boost to the area, there's been energy, there's been creativity.

"There is so much potential in Bradford and in the surrounding areas. Just to be able to shine a bit of a light on that has been fantastic."

She says for artists to continue to thrive in Bradford, the city needs to keep trying new things.

"For the legacy of Bradford 2025 to have meaning, you need to keep plugged into that creativity of the city.

"You need to keep doing bold things, doing brave things, challenging. If they can keep going with that then who can argue with that?"

Shabina Aslam is artistic director of Theatre in the Mill, which is based at the University of Bradford.

She says she is "glad that I got to experience it", but doesn't feel the programme was fully accessible.

"It's been fun and I think it has opened up more spaces for people to go to like The Loading Bay and I was glad of the broad range of representation.

"I did feel that most of the experiences for people of colour, working class, and people with protected characteristics, were largely participatory and on the fringes.

"I hope that it's left people with a desire for creativity within their lives and people push for that going forwards."

Jonny Noble is chief executive at Bradford BID, which works with local businesses to encourage investment.

He says City of Culture has increased people's confidence in the city.

"That shines for me, the coverage that the place has got, the positivity of people who have come and enjoyed the city centre, particularly since the Transforming Cities work have been finished. It looks completely different," he says.

"I think it's been a real shot in the arm for Bradford generally, it's a been a really positive year.

"We can celebrate 2025 and it's right that we do but in 2026 onwards the train can't stop. We've got to keep collectively working hard and working on the place."

John Varey is owner of Blossoms and Co. He says a lot of events have been held to boost footfall in the city – but some of them were put on by Bradford BID, rather than UK City of Culture.

"We have seen some wonderful things to draw people in, and we have invested as a family to try and make this shop the most beautiful thing on Market Street," he says.

"Market Street has been pedestrianised and I have a vision to make this a market for next year, like Skipton, but that is not possible if people don't come back into the city."

He says UK City of Culture has drawn people back in and reminded them of how wonderful Bradford is, but he is concerned that the energy needs to continue into 2026.

"Everyone is trying and if people can support us to support the city and independent businesses it would make a massive difference and take things off the internet and back into the streets."

Students Sam, Jessica and Ren have been involved in City of Culture events at Bradford College.

Sam and Jessica, both 16, have been working on spiral artwork inspired by the winner of the Turner Prize, Nnena Kalu

Sam says: "It has been really fascinating to see how the city has grown and changed and how many opportunities we have got because of it and how Bradford has had a spotlight on it."

He says he has enjoyed going to see the Turner Prize and some of the galleries and enjoyed the creative atmosphere.

Jessica volunteered for the opening weekend, and has seen a lot of the ongoing exhibitions as part of City of Culture events.

She says: "We don't get a lot of this attention in Bradford and I doubt it will be back any time soon.

"It was so nice to see the influx of visitors coming to Bradford and the positive atmosphere it created.

"Of course we have David Hockney and a lot of other artists in Bradford who are popular, but having this influx of new art continues the growth of Bradford as an arts city."

Ren, also 16, says they have benefitted from the investment into Bradford as part of City of Culture through the college's Producing Academy.

The Producing Academy is a new facility with resources for music production, fashion, photography and game development.

"It has helped so much, we have new gear, everything feels more organised," they say.

They went to RISE at the beginning and since then they have worked with performers and other opportunities have come from it.

"It has been incredible seeing all the different events and seeing the music scene boom in the last year.

"Before that there wasn't much going on, it was quite slow and there were only a few gigs every now and then and everything was quite small.

"Now, with Bradford Live and BBC Introducing it has just boomed and it has been amazing because I have been able to be part of so many different, incredible experiences and meet so many different people."

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