BD: is LIT
Bradford city centre will glow on 7 & 8 November as BD: is LIT returns with a dazzling mix of light, art and storytelling. Supported by Bradford Council and Bradford UK City of Culture 2025, this radiant festival reimagines the city through immersive experiences and creative expression. This year’s theme—The Colour of Light—celebrates how light transforms spaces and brings people together.
From epic projections to intimate installations, soundscapes to sculptures, BD: is LIT invites you to explore Bradford in a whole new way. Here's your guide to the must-see experiences and where to find them:
Worstedopolis © Ronan Devlin
Ronan Devlin – Worstedopolis | Location: City Hall
Visit City Park to see City Hall transformed by a large-scale projection that reimagines Bradford’s textile heritage. Patterns of weaving—plain, twill, jacquard—are turned into a living digital fabric, shifting and recombining in luminous geometric forms. This striking installation celebrates Bradford’s legacy as the world centre of worsted production, blending tradition with cutting-edge creativity.
Phenix © Christopher Askman
Julien Menzel – Phenix | Location: St George's Plaza
Get ready to be drawn into a luminous world of myth and meaning with this ten-metre glowing sculpture. Inspired by a legendary creature, it stands as a beacon of hope and strength in the face of adversity. Paired with a haunting soundscape from French Guyana—where birdsong collides with the roar of gold mining machinery—it powerfully highlights the environmental damage caused by deforestation and mercury use. Visually stunning and emotionally resonant, it’s an experience worth seeking out.
Monolith
Urban Spy – Monolith | Location: City Park
Encounter Monolith—a towering installation that explores how screens and data shape our lives. Combining light, sound, and space, it draws inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and reflects on the screen as a modern mirror—shaping who we are and how we connect. As screens become part of everyday life, Monolith asks: are we being freed or controlled? Are we turning into data? What happens as our bodies and devices merge? It’s a powerful piece that invites reflection on technology, privacy, and identity.
Spark! © Anthony Kwan
Worldbeaters – Spark! | Location: Various around the city centre
Feel the pulse of the city come alive with Spark!—an internationally acclaimed street theatre spectacle that blends live drumming, mesmerising movement, and dazzling light. Performed by a cast of enigmatic characters, this high-energy show turns Bradford’s streets into a vibrant stage of rhythm and colour. Whether leading parades or captivating passersby, Spark! brings joy and atmosphere wherever it goes. Showtimes: Friday only at 5:00pm, 6:30pm and 8:00pm
Lighthouse © Dan Mallaghan
Jez Colborne – Lighthouse | Location: Darley Street Market
Turn up the intensity with Lighthouse—a thrilling collision of sound, light, and story that defies convention. This immersive performance follows a veteran keeper isolated on a remote rock, as time fractures and reality slips away. With a pounding industrial soundtrack inspired by jungle, drum & bass, and breakbeat, and a fusion of projection, sculpture, movement, and music, it’s part gig, part light show, part apocalyptic rave.
Lighthouse is a ticketed event—booking is essential to secure your place. A ticket link will be coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for updates. This is one experience you’ll feel in your bones.
Rainforest Butterflies
Anne Bennett – Rainforest Butterflies | Location: Norfolk Gardens
Step into a rainforest alive with colour and sound, where hundreds of glowing butterflies shimmer from blue to turquoise. Listen closely for the gentle calls of the Amazon. Created to highlight the fragility of ecosystems under threat, this magical installation invites us to look closer at what we stand to lose.
MAPP
AlexP – MAPP | Location: Tower of Now
Jump into an interactive light show, where you become the art. Move, pose, and play—no artistic skill needed. Created by AlexP using self-developed software, MAPP is vibrant, humorous and perfect for all ages. Throw some shapes, take some pictures and become an instant light show yourself.
The Leap – The BD Dazzler | Location: Tower of Now
Marvel at Bradford lighting up one tuktuk at a time. Inspired by Pakistan’s iconic truck art, this illuminated vehicle is a vibrant fusion of culture and design. Created by Bradford artists Zareena Bano and Aamta-Tul Waheed with Rawalpindi-based experts, the piece celebrates identity through community collaboration and dazzling detail.
Nicola Murray – Listening Lights | Location: Norfolk Gardens
Speak words of love and memory into a softly lit booth inspired by Japan’s Wind Phone. Outside, your voice transforms into shifting light and sound. A space for reflection and connection, inclusive and accessible to all who’ve experienced loss.
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Stitching Light
Emergency Exit Arts – Stitching Light আল ো দিল়ে গোাঁথো | Location: Interchange Concourse
Explore a walk-through textile and light installation sharing stories of Bangladeshi women’s migration. Panels hand-painted in Dhaka and stitched with light thread are arranged in a 3D structure with immersive soundscape. Created in collaboration with women across Bradford, Tower Hamlets, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Worcester and Salford.
Cat Scott – Flow (of the Broad Ford) | Location: Market Street
Rediscover Bradford’s hidden beck as it returns in this ephemeral installation. A shimmering mirage invites contemplation on water’s role in climate, wellbeing and urban life. Created with support from Bradford 2025 and South Square Gallery and inspired by local knowledge from Friends of Bradford’s Becks.
Chris Plant – Harmonic Portal
Chris Plant – Harmonic Portal | Location: Hustlergate
Tune into minimalist sculptures that let you hear colour. Light frequencies are translated into sound, creating tones that shift with what you see. The amplified textures feel like viewing surfaces through a magnifying glass—or even an electron microscope. A unique invitation to reimagine Bradford’s architecture.
ONYVA Studio – Eternal Ensemble | Location: Broadway
Be transported into the repeated moment of a cellist’s performance, held in time by spatial audio and four immersive screens. Created by UK-based Onyva Studio, known for crafting sensory spaces that feel both alien and familiar.
Rever
Outpoint Studio – Rever | Location: Tyrrel Street
Glide through a 3-minute dreamscape of cascading light and sound. Created by lighting designer Jack Cheeseborough and composer Henry Howe, this vivid piece uses stage lighting to explore the subconscious with a waterfall of light and an original electronic score.
Zohaib Kazi – Sonic Swirl & Silence | Location: Loading Bay
Venture into Sufi mysticism in this immersive light and sound installation. Featuring recordings and images from Pakistan’s sacred shrines, it explores devotion, music and spiritual practice. Created by Pakistani musician Zohaib Kazi and supported by the British Council.
MyLahore
Bradford’s food scene glows alongside BD: is LIT, with comforting classics and global flavours. As the UK’s Curry Capital, its South Asian heritage shines through vibrant restaurants and takeaways—explore more via the Bradford Curry Guide. Before the show, cafés like Tiffin, Lefteris, and Café W offer relaxed spots for coffee and light bites. Grab a slice from Pizza Pieces or traditional fish and chips from The Inn Plaice. The Broadway Bradford is a family-friendly hub with familiar favourites, while Darley Street Kitchen brings street food indoors with international vendors. North Parade buzzes with creative energy, from The Record Café to Boar and Fable. Nearby, City Vaults serves hearty pub fare and live music, while The Exchange pours rotating cask ales in a laid-back setting. Hidden beneath the streets, Sunbridgewells reveals gems like La Caverna—a cosy Italian eatery serving Modenese cuisine and wood-fired pizzas. For a classic sit-down meal, Mamma Mia offers warm hospitality and timeless Italian favourites.
Save the date: 7 & 8 November All events are free and take place across Bradford city centre.
Looking for more to do while exploring BD:LIT? Check out these events happening across Bradford:
7 Nov – Sara Pascoe: I Am A Strange Gloop at St. George’s Hall | Stand-up from one of the UK’s sharpest comic voices.
8 Nov - Justin Fletcher Live Tour at Bradford Live | CBeebies star rocks the stage with laughs, music and family fun.
8 Nov – Bradford Festive Launch at The Broadway Bradford | Lights, music and family fun to kick off the season.
8 Nov – The Wittering Whitehalls: Barely Alive at St. George’s Hall | Michael and Hilary Whitehall take their hit podcast to the stage with sharp wit and hilarious rants.
8 Nov – Wifi Wars at National Science and Media Museum | Interactive gaming meets live comedy.
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