Steven Frayne hails 'amazing' City of Culture year

Illusionist Steven Frayne says he is "incredibly proud" of how people in Bradford have embraced its UK City of Culture year.

The Bradford-born 42-year-old headlined Bradford 2025's opening event RISE, where he performed in front of thousands of people in City Park.

Frayne, formerly known as magician Dynamo, described the January open-air show as one of the "best experiences" of his life, despite some nerves about performing in front of a home crowd.

Discussing the culture year, he felt everyone in the area had played a part and had been able to share a "little bit of their own magic".

Bradford is the fourth UK City of Culture, a title that is awarded every four years and aimed at boosting visitor numbers, economies and reputations.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, he said: "I'm a big believer that magic is the ability to make someone believe in something.

"When you can make someone believe in themselves and do things they didn't think were possible - that is true magic and that's what's happened this year."

He continued: "I've just been incredibly proud of the way the people of Bradford have literally risen to the occasion."

It was his Crohn's disease, diagnosed as a teenager, which led to his decision to drop the name Dynamo, he said.

Complications from the disease left him in hospital and unable to get out of bed, so he had to focus on getting better and "forget about Dynamo".

"Personally I felt I couldn't live up to the name," he said.

"I'd always performed as my alter ego, and that gave me a fake sense of confidence that I could hide behind.

"But as I stepped back into the world as a performer again I figured, let's show them something they've never seen before."

He said he was still working to recover skills he had lost due to ill health and get back to the level he was at the height of Dynamo's fame.

He added: "What I've lost as Dynamo I've managed to gain things in Steven that you'd never get to see otherwise."

Recalling his nerves ahead of his RISE performance, he said: "I've performed a lot of close-up magic, street magic in Bradford growing up, but I'd never gone on stage in my home town in front of thousands.

"When I went out there and saw all those people staring back and getting involved in the magic and celebrating everything that makes Bradford great - it was just one of the best experiences of my life."

The illusionist has bookended his year with performances in the city, with Frayne approaching the end of a week-long December residency at the Loading Bay venue.

"I started the year with a show in Bradford and now I feel like I am going full circle, closing out my December with a run of shows," he said.

He described it as a chance to perform for family and friends who were there when he had "nothing but a pack of cards and a bunch of dreams".

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