THE first two days of trading at The Broadway have been hailed as a resounding success by its manager.

The £260 million centre opened up to queues of people, with singer Alexandra Burke cutting the ribbon at the main entrance, on Thursday morning.

It is also expected to be packed with shoppers this weekend.

The Broadway manager Sue Anderson-Brown said: "We are delighted that the launch of The Broadway has been a resounding success.

"We've seen the true spirit of Bradfordians come to life over the last few days inside the centre and have been pleased to welcome such large numbers of shoppers into the centre for the first time.

"We are looking forward to seeing more customers come through the doors at the weekend to enjoy the rest of our New City Soul Festival and the brand new fashion and food offer within the city."

A fashion show was held throughout yesterday to show off some of the top designs available during the autumn/winter season.

Some of The Broadway's shops, including Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and New Look and River Island, showed off their ranges.

This weekend there will prize giveaways at the shopping centre, including a Spin the Wheel competition and If The Shoe Fits.

Every weekend until Christmas there will be free films shown for children.

A free pop-up cinema will be in The Broadway today and tomorrow in unit 51, opposite Boots, showing films shown at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3pm.

The manager of anchor tennant Marks & Spencer, Steve King, said the number of customers through the doors had exceeded expectations.

"We're just delighted by the number of people who have come to have a look," he added.

He said a busy first two days had been "really enjoyable".

"It's gone fantastically well. We're overwhelmed by the number of customers who came, and not just from Bradford, but I spoke to people from Leeds, Manchester and Wakefield - it's captured the imagination of lots of people.

"The feedback from customers has been phenomenal."

He said he thought many people, including his parents, who had not been into Bradford for years had returned to the city on Thursday to see the new shopping centre.

"They want to spend their money in Bradford," he said.

Mr King said M&S had slightly fewer customers visiting the store yesterday but there had been more sales made and it was an easier shopping experience.

The Broadway's M&S has a boutique style ladieswear section, which Mr King said was only the third of its kind, following in the footsteps of Hong Kong and Brussels.

He added that the M&S store in Darley Street, which is now closed, and The Broadway's new offering were "chalk and cheese".