Trafalgar Entertainment Named As Operator For Bradford Live

Bradford Council has announced that, following the completion of a successful competitive tender process, leading global live entertainment company Trafalgar Entertainment has been named as the new operator for Bradford's newest live music and entertainment venue, BRADFORD LIVE.

 

Founded by Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire in 2017, Trafalgar Entertainment is an award winning global live-entertainment business focussed on new productions, venue operations, live music and comedy, events and hospitality, Performing Arts education, ticketing, the distribution and filming of live event cinema and TV live-streaming (from David Tennant in Macbeth to Taylor Swift) and the provision of great spaces where people can come together to share in the experience of live entertainment. 

 

In its heyday, Bradford Live hosted major live music acts such as the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Tom Jones, and Roy Orbison. Investment in the venue now forms a major development of Trafalgar's live music business, building on their other live music, comedy and streaming event venues, as well as their global theatre business.

 

Trafalgar Entertainment will now begin the final fit out of BRADFORD LIVE to their specifications and work at pace to develop and launch a programme of live events. It is expected that the venue will be open by Autumn 2025. Trafalgar have also been in discussion with Bradford Culture Company to agree how the venue can play a role in Bradford's UK City of Culture programme this year.

 

BRADFORD LIVE is a world class 3,000+ seated and 3,500+ standing capacity music, comedy, events and entertainment venue, together with event spaces, located in the heart of Bradford city centre. The former Odeon Cinema was originally built in 1930s. Following a period of dereliction when the building was out of use, the magnificent art deco building was saved from demolition and has now been fully restored with a £50m investment, bringing it back to its former glory as a live music venue and entertainment hub for the city.

 

Trafalgar's ambitious plans for the venue include full use of all the beautifully restored and reimagined spaces, to include – alongside the best in live music, comedy and other live entertainment - conferences, exhibitions, events, weddings, graduations and banqueting events.

 

BRADFORD LIVE joins Trafalgar's growing portfolio of prestigious venues which includes both theatre spaces and multi-purpose music, events and comedy venues. They include Trafalgar Theatre in the West End and Olympia Theatre in London, the Theatre Royal Sydney in Australia, Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Glasgow Pavilion, G Live Guildford, New Theatre Cardiff, and Fareham Live and a number of other UK regional venues. Trafalgar Entertainment has 21 venues in total.

 

Sir Howard Panter, Joint CEO, Co-founder, and Creative Director at Trafalgar Entertainment, said, “Lee Craven, the team at Bradford Live and Bradford Council have transformed this glorious landmark venue into a modern and truly world-class destination, whilst honouring and preserving its stunning Art Deco heritage.

“Bradford is already a thriving, cultural destination, but as the UK's City of Culture for 2025, Bradford has an even greater future ahead, and we're excited to be a part of that journey with Bradford Live.

 

“Our immediate priorities include supporting and promoting Bradford as the UK City of Culture 2025 - and engaging with the Bradford 2025 team to deliver an exemplary programme of events during what is a milestone year for the city.

 

“The sheer scope and scale of Bradford Live gives us a fantastic opportunity to bring the best premium programming, enabling us to host a huge range of shows from the biggest live-music events and comedy to large-scale entertainment of all kinds and from some of the world's biggest stars.”

 

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council said, “I am delighted to be able to make this announcement and welcome Trafalgar Entertainment to Bradford. After the challenges of the last 12 months, we can now look forward to seeing this iconic part of Bradford's history open and playing a big part in Bradford's future. The venue will be fully open in Autumn this year, and playing a part in our UK City of Culture celebrations prior to that as promised.

 

“Not only will the cultural events bring entertainment and enjoyment to the many, many people who will visit Bradford Live in the coming years, but also the investment we've made here will boost the local economy, and support the businesses of the District for years to come too.”

 

Helen Enright, CEO Trafalgar Venues added,  “We passionately believe that audiences deserve the very best and we're committed to making all our venues welcoming, accessible and central to the communities they serve. Our vision for Bradford Live is for the venue to be a hub for live touring artists, comedians, and bands, creating lifelong memorable moments for local fans. Our programming team will call upon their relationships with some of the UK's biggest promoters, and their expertise in programming a broad range of shows, to make Bradford Live the ‘go to' destination in the region.  

 

“We also plan to use the venue's secondary spaces – which are extraordinary - to host events, activities, conferences, weddings and parties, complemented by our first-class, event-planning, dining and hospitality services.”

 

Dan Bates, Executive Director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture said, “Bradford Live is a much-loved and iconic venue, rich in history and cherished by countless Bradfordians so it's incredibly exciting to see a respected and established company like Trafalgar Entertainment appointed as the new operators. Their expertise and track record in delivering world-class entertainment make them the ideal organisation to help shape the future of this iconic venue. 

 

“We're really excited to collaborate with them on events during 2025 and ensure the venue plays a huge role in building an unprecedented legacy from Bradford's time as UK City of Culture.”

 

Lee Craven, Founding Director of Bradford Live said, “Trafalgar Entertainment are the perfect fit for this venue, and we're delighted at their appointment. 

 

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