Bradford to boost Northern Powerhouse with Great Exhibition of the North bid

Bradford could provide a major boost to the Government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative if the city is successful in its bid to host the Great Exhibition of the North.

For a two-month period, the Great Exhibition of the North will showcase the best of art, culture and design in the North of England to national and international audiences.

The West Yorkshire city will submit a proposal to host the exhibition which is set to take place in summer 2018.

The Northern Powerhouse, which aims to help rebalance the UK economy, will significantly benefit from the Great Exhibition.

The Bradford team will be promoting the city to the bid committee as an area with a strong business community, vibrant arts and cultural scene, great transport connections and quality of life.

The city, which has an economy worth more than £8.3bn, is home to hundreds of digital and advanced technology companies, which utilize some of the fastest broadband in the UK. Large businesses such as Morrisons, Provident Financial and Yorkshire Building Society also have headquarters in Bradford.

In addition, the Government has pledged to contribute £5m towards the exhibition itself and a further £15m into a legacy fund to attract further cultural investment in the Northern Powerhouse.

Susan Hinchliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “The renaissance underway in our proud city makes Bradford the perfect place to host the Great Exhibition of the North.”

Kersten England, chief executive of Bradford Council since summer 2015, added: “Bradford has extraordinary strengths and these deserve more recognition.

“The city is at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse and Bradford’s many successes in recent years should inspire everyone to be bold and confident about the future of the North of England.”

Clare Morrow, the former chairwoman of tourist agency Welcome to Yorkshire, is advising the bid team, which is led by Shelagh O’Neill, who was project director for the City Park water feature.

Arup, the global engineering consultancy, is providing input on venues and logistics and creative direction.

Jim Johnson, Leeds office leader at Arup, commented: “Arup is very pleased to support Bradford’s bid for such an important exhibition for the whole of the North.

“We’re very excited at the prospect of contributing our skills to showcase creativity and innovation from across the region in this youthful, diverse and vibrant city.”

Chancellor George Osborne has asked Sir Gary Verity, the chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, to look over the project and chair the board for the Great Exhibition of the North.

Sir Gary, knighted for his services to tourism after bringing the Tour de France Grand Depart to Yorkshire in 2014, said: “The Great Exhibition of the North will showcase the best of our art, design and culture to the world in 2018 and will help bring the whole region together.

“I look forward to seeing the high quality bids from towns and cities across the North.”