THOUSANDS of people are expected to attend Bradford city centre's first Food and Drink Festival which gets underway tomorrow.

The three-day event, which runs from Friday to Sunday, is being staged on behalf of Bradford BID, the city's Business Improvement District.

It will take place in City Park and will offer a wide array of hot food stalls as well as a food producers’ market.

A live entertainment stage will also be set up on one side of Centenary Square, providing a showcase for local bands and artists.

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Organisers hope the festival, which runs from 10am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday, will draw in thousands of new visitors, over the three days, in a bid to put the city centre on the "foodie" map.

There will also be a programme of free children’s entertainment featuring circus skills workshops and balloon sculpting.

Jonny Noble, manager of Bradford BID, said of the event: “The Food & Drink Festival will provide a showcase for producers of culinary delights from around the district and will be a celebration of our independent food culture as well as our thriving and highly-regarded craft beverage scene.

“City Park is the perfect place to get an event like this off the ground and we hope, in the years ahead, it will grow to be even bigger and better and become a key annual event on the city’s live attractions calendar.”

The hot food court will provide a taste of cuisines from across the globe, from Greek souvlaki to Wagyu burgers, from Turkish wraps to Indian curries, from Japanese gyozas to French-style crepes.

The array of producers will offer artisan gins, quirky liqueurs, cheeses, jams, chutneys and other preserves, sauces and pastes, breads, olives, muffins, traybakes, cakes, fresh fruit and veg and old-fashioned sweets and more.

There will be deckchairs on hand for those who want to sit and listen to a varied line-up of live entertainment, which will include bands such as Flash Cassette, Dandy Lions, Moretti and singer and guitarist Chris Dover.

“We’re really thrilled that NEC, the people who will be running Bradford Live when it opens, are sponsoring the live stage,” added Mr Noble.

“We felt this was a great opportunity to provide a showcase for local talent, be they bands or solo artists, to show what they can do in front of a supportive home crowd and NEC were really keen to get behind the idea.”

Funding for the Food & Drink Festival, which has been organised by PJJ Events, has come from the pot raised by the levy on the 630 city centre businesses that the BID represents.

BID chairman Ian Ward said: “Organising and supporting new city centre events was one of the key strands put forward in our business plan under the Alive pillar.

“They help to bring more people into the city centre, generating more customers for local businesses as well as keeping the streets bustling and building a sense of ownership and involvement for local people.

“Developing that sense of place is essential to making city centres thrive and I’m certain this event will get bigger and bigger every year as people come along to join the fun!”

The Business Improvement District was set up after nearly 80 per cent of participating city centre businesses voted last year in its favour.

It raises funds to be spent on city centre improvements through a levy on the 630 businesses included in the BID zone, along with voluntary contributions from supporting organisations.

Already the BID has begun a number of projects, including hot-washing key streets to remove years of accumulated grime and ground-in chewing gum, as well as spring cleaning landmark buildings by removing fly-posting, and installing more than one hundred hanging baskets to help bring colour to some of the area's key streets.

  • Sunbridgewells is also hosting The Big Summer Food, Drink and Craft Fair on Friday and Saturday at its city centre complex of tunnels. There will be live music, street food, afternoon teas, bottomless brunches, an arts and craft fair, special kegs and ales, and more than 6o gins.