Yorkshire: The UK’s County of Culture

Yorkshire has been (unofficially) announced as the UK’s County of Culture with two of the next three Cities of Culture taking place in the county – Leeds 2023 and Bradford 2025. Each city will have a year to showcase their diverse cultures within their respective city and surrounding area.

Leeds has been experiencing a cultural boom – especially in the media industry following Channel 4’s relocation to the city – which culminated in its bid to become the EU’s Capital of Culture. While the bid may have collapsed thanks to Brexit, Peer Judith Blake wanted to re-harness the “energy and enthusiasm” to “keep that momentum”. Instead, Leeds is the first City of Culture post-Brexit.

With Leeds 2023 getting underway in less than three months, attention has turned to ‘The Awakening’ – Leeds 2023’s opening ceremony. Held on 7^th January at Headingley Stadium, the event intends to celebrate “Leeds’ cultural past, present and future” with acts including BBC presenter Gabby Logan, musician Corinne Bailey Rae, and Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to name a few.

Tickets for the event will be distributed via a ballot in keeping with Leeds 2023’s motto “Letting Culture Loose”. To enter the free ballot, the team is calling on applicants to submit anything that shows how they have been creatively inspired. While entries like paintings, poetry and photography are to be welcomed, so too are creative TikToks, make-up looks, and flower arrangements. Winners will be randomly selected on 25^th November.

While Leeds could be viewed as a natural selection to be the UK’s City of Culture, Bradford may come as a shock to some. But for those who know Bradford or contributed to Bradford’s City of Culture bid, this feels like a recognition long overdue, and an opportunity to display itself as the cultural hive it is.

The plans already laid out in their bid displays Bradford’s ambition. In 2025 alone, the aim is to host more than “1000 new performances and events including 365 artist commissions, a series of major arts festivals as well as exciting national and international collaborations”.

The themes of the year will be “rooted in the unique heritage and character of Bradford”. With that in mind, expect a running motive of Bradford’s industrial and textile history to be ever-present. The city owes its early growth to the textile industry which encouraged a diaspora of people from South Asia. The industry has left a distinctive mark on the city, with textile factories and mills across Bradford forming a crucial part of the city’s iconography.

Despite the overtly stated importance of heritage to Bradford 2025, “above all, its [Bradford’s] potential” is the primary focus. This is especially relevant given it is the UK’s youngest city (29% of the population are under 20 and nearly a quarter under 16).

Potentially best known for their football club Bradford City, who have recently undergone a rebranding, the city also possesses a host of gems waiting to be discovered – first among them is The Record Café whose owner summarizes his passions as “records, beer and ham”. The walls and ceiling are decked in stickers and flags, making it the perfect place for an independent beer or pre-match pint. But the first floor transforms into a vinyl record store, the perfect retreat to browse rows of records all whilst a taxidermy boar head watches over.

Other student must-visits on a day out in Bradford include vintage and art store Mean Old Scene and the all-encompassing Bread and Rose. More than just a vintage clothing store, Mean Old Scene specializes in vintage furniture and local art. Bread and Rose, on the other hand, is a day out in itself. As a co-operative plant-based café, it is also a creative workspace that runs events and eco-friendly shop all in one.

Both Yorkshire cities have set out ambitious plans to not only demonstrate the creativity already helping to form the cultural hubs but unlock the creativity in the local community. Above all, this is a long overdue recognition for a region known for its sports, but soon to be known for its culture too.