A GRAND re-opening for Bradford’s historic St George’s Hall is being planned for June, the Council has revealed.

The Grade II* listed building is nearing the end of a major £9.5 million restoration project and is set to welcome the first act back to the stage in just under a month.

To mark the occasion Bradford Council, which runs the landmark building, is gearing up for a red carpet official opening event at the beginning of June.

At a meeting of full council on Tuesday night, councillors were told that the official opening event would be on June 1 and 2.

But the authority has since confirmed that this is a provisional date they are working towards and may change.

The meeting was told that the event would feature “high profile artists and local amateur performers”.

Plans for the event are currently being finalised and details will be released shortly.

The restoration project is being funded by the Council and £1.5m towards the stonework renovations has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Work has been taking place both inside and outside the building for the past 21 months.

This has included extensive internal renovations designed to improve the front-of-house areas as well as to improve sight lines and the comfort of the seating for theatregoers in the auditorium.

The roof has been completely replaced and stonemasons have been working to carve and replace any damaged stonework on the 165-year-old building.

Work on the upper levels of the exterior was largely completed by November and the scaffolding and coverings were removed to allow access to the masonry on the lower level.

Work is continuing on this lower level, including on the Hall Ings side of the building where the new main doors will be.

On the Bridge Street side, there will be a glazed entrance area between the existing pillars.

Adam Renton, general manager for Theatres, said: “As some refurbishment work will continue on St George’s Hall, it is planned to have a soft opening with our very first act being the multi-million selling recording artist and actress, Barbara Dickson on 15 February.

“Our officers are working hard to put together a programme for our grand opening which will run over two days in June. We are planning a large scale, red carpet event with high profile artists performing a modern variety show on one of the days, with the other day having performances from local, amateur artists who will take to the brand new stage."

“We are really proud of the refurbishment work that has been carried out on this amazing 165 year old Grade II* listed building. The work is to an exceptionally high standard and will ensure the venue can be enjoyed by many future generations.”

The first event to be held at the refurbished venue will be a concert by recording artist Barbara Dickson on February 15.

Other acts to take to stage in the first weeks of it reopening include: the Halle Orchestra on February 21 and March 15, Anton and Erin: Those Magic Musicals on March 13, and Dreamboys on March 16.