How Bradford winning UK City of Culture Bid 2025 will be boost for jobs, education, health and well-being

Professor Marcus Rattray is part of the Bradford bid team and in his role as ‘research convenor’, he says it presents an unrivalled opportunity for the University of Bradford, where he is based, to help create a permanent change in the district’s fortunes.

University academics have already helped inform Bradford’s 2025 bid, with rigorous research into economic forecasts, cultural impact and the positive social, health and wellbeing effects that will come about as a result of becoming UK City of Culture.

Prof Rattray says this means creating more opportunities for people and boosting social mobility - something that aligns perfectly with the University’s own vision and long-term strategy.

The establishment, founded in 1966, was named University of the Year 2020 for Social Inclusion by The Times and Sunday Times.

The professor of pharmacology explained: “We have this opportunity to help drive a permanent change in our fortunes.

“We want to use the City of Culture to open more opportunities to people, to show them things they might not have otherwise considered, to open new doors and new possibilities.

“This will not only boost people’s confidence but perhaps create new career paths and chances to become involved in things like volunteering. It’s about removing barriers and tackling inequality, whether these are economic or social.”

Those behind the Bradford bid say that it is also about improving people’s life chances - something the University has already been honoured for, by twice being ranked number one in England as the university most likely to improve people’s social mobility.

Another benefit from winning the 2025 title, researchers found, is that for every 100 jobs this creates, it could create 165 more in related industries and services.

When Hull won City of Culture in 2017 it created a volunteering programme second only to the Olympics and it is hoped the opportunities of all kinds will be created in Bradford as currently, the city’s creative sector contributes about two per cent to the local economy.

Prof Rattray added: “We think we can do much more than that. The University has a huge role to play, both in terms of helping secure the bid and ensuring our academics engage with it in the years to come.

“This is an opportunity for the Bradford district to shine on a global stage, to attract more students from the UK and the world, to share our breadth of knowledge and expertise and show culture can be a driver for change.”

Bradford2025 Bid

It was revealed last month that Bradford had made the shortlist of four vying for the title of UK City of Culture 2025. There were originally a record 20m applications, whittled down to a long-list of eight and then the final four - which also includes County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough.

The Bradford bid team says its vision is to use arts and culture to fuel the social, economic and creative renaissance of the city, making it one of the most welcoming places in the UK for artists, producers, audiences and creative entrepreneurs to flourish.

The winner is set to be announced later this spring.