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April 14th, 2025
Bradford: 11 reasons why the UK’s City of Culture is the place for brands in 2025
Navdeep Poonia
Account Director
As we know, Out of Home success is all about being in the right place at the right time. And when it comes to opportunity, audience, and impact, Bradford is a city your brand can’t afford to overlook.
Truly a city on the rise, as the UK’s City of Culture 2025 it’s a hub of entertainment, diversity, and regeneration. With a young, dynamic population, a growing economy, and our brand-new site, Bradford Media Wall puts your brand at the heart of the action, offering the visibility, engagement and impact that you need to standout.
Download Out of home leads the way in Bradford
1. A city that looks up
74% of the city’s population (of over 333k), are heavy or medium OOH viewers, outperforming both radio and TV. If your brand wants to reach Bradford audiences, then OOH is the answer.1
2. A city with spending power
With a weekly spend potential exceeding £7 million, your brand has a golden opportunity to connect with an audience ready to invest.1
3. Bradford Media Wall: the city’s gateway
Positioned in the heart of Bradford’s entertainment district, occupying the façade of Bradford Live, this unmissable screen captures the energy of the city, delivering high-impact visibility for brands. Measuring 195.84 square-metres, the screen is full motion and powered by Ocean Labs React technology, giving your brand the chance to deliver dynamic and engaging campaigns.
Download The UK’s City of Culture 2025
4. Bradford is on the rise
Bradford’s is set to see significant growth, with it’s recognition as the UK’s City of Culture 2025. By 2030, this status is expected to generate £700 million in economic growth. In 2025 alone, approximately 1,000 events will take place, developed in collaboration with local artists and creatives. These events are anticipated to attract an additional 3.3 million visitors, contributing nearly £140 million in visitor spending to the local economy.2
5. A surge in jobs
Bradford’s cultural boom, powered by an electric events calendar, is set to create 6,500 new jobs and 1,000 volunteer roles. The city is evolving – fast. 2
6. Redevelopment and investment
The city recently received £15 million in government investment, boosting its economic growth, creating new opportunities, and improving job prospects.3 Major redevelopment in the pipeline includes Bradford’s City Village regeneration area. And the 2.5 acre green space of Norfolk Gardens marks the final key element in a scheme to transform and pedestrianise large parts of the city centre.
Are you ready to be entertained?
7. Bradford Live: an iconic world class entertainment venue
Projected to attract 300,000 visitors annually, the newly restored Bradford Live is a game-changer, hosting everything from live music to comedy festivals, with a capacity of 3,900.4
8. Rich in culture and heritage
The National Science and Media Museum: celebrated for its interactive exhibits and screenings, the museum welcomes more than 400,000 annual visitors, making it one of the most visited in the UK outside of London.5
9. Football fever
Home to Bradford City AFC – where 23,381 passionate fans packed the stadium in a record-breaking turnout, this is a significant year for the club as manager Graham Alexander steers them to the second spot in League 2, attracting big crowds in the process.
Download Diverse and growing audience
10. Young, social and connected
Bradford stands out with a high concentration of young, diverse and digitally savvy citizens, over-indexing in Urban Diversity and Student Life Acorn profiles.6
And as our Neuroscience research proves, integrating DOOH into your social strategy boosts memorability. By pairing DOOH in Bradford with social media, brands can prime their audience for maximum impact, perfect for the Gen Z audience.
11. A built-in student audience
The University of Bradford draws nearly 10,000 students from 150 nations, bringing a global, engaged and youthful energy to the city.7
Bradford Media Wall is a superb new opportunity to take centre stage, tapping into the spirit and optimism of a thriving, multicultural city as it celebrates its status as UK City of Culture 2025.
To find out more about advertising in Bradford, contact sales@oceanoutdoor.com
Sources:
[1] CACI, 2024
[2] Bradford City Council, 2025
[3] Gov UK, Department for Media and Sport
[4] Bradford Live, 2025
[5] National Science and Media Museum
[6] CACI, 2025
[7] University of Bradford, 2024
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