ENERGETIC dance performances, colourful street theatre, and international live music will all feature in the 2016 Bradford Festival, set to be staged in City Park from July 8 to 10.

Bradford Council has now confirmed the first acts for the free event, and organisers say the programme should provide “something for everyone.”

Theatre lovers will be treated to performances by the innovative London troupe, Wet Picnic, performing their piece entitled ‘In The Lift’, and ‘Planetary’ by Pif Paf, a Russian aerial acrobatic piece performed on a giant rotating wheel.

Visitors can also experience ‘The Rat Race’, a surreal commentary on modern life by the outdoor puppet company Frolicked told by rats through the holes in a giant wedge of cheese.

Music fans will be able to enjoy ‘Phone Box’, a quirky dance piece by the celebrated New Zealand choreographer Corey Baker, rock in the form of Leeds band Hope and Social, and reggae from the Bristol band Talisman.

Paprika, hailing from Romania, Serbia, and the UK, will add an international flavour with their take on traditional Eastern European, Balkan, Gypsy and Classical Music.

Local artists will also provide a range of fun and interactive workshops, including visual artist Lou Sumray, textile artist Morwenna Catt, and fabric artists Musarat Raza and Nasreen Akhtar.

The programme will also feature a chance to join Touchstone Bradford at The Square Chapatti Club, where personalised chapattis will be produced and displayed as art, and an opportunity to view the work of students from the Young Masters Visual Art School in Bradford, who will produce Habotai silk-painted banners using textile patterns from India and Pakistan.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, of Bradford Council, said: “This year’s Bradford Festival has a rich variety of music and talent on show. We have something for everyone here.

“Last year we had thousands enjoying the music and stalls, and this year’s programme promises to create a really vibrant festival to pull in the crowds.”