FANS of dance music are gearing up for the inaugural Bradford Dance Festival which will take place on Saturday featuring some of the genre’s biggest names.

Organised in collaboration with Ministry of Sound, the festival will take place at Odsal Stadium on Saturday, and is the first music event of its kind to be held in the city.

Attendees will be able to celebrate the end of lockdown and return of live music, raving on the pitch at the famous old ground to chart-topping tunes and also enjoying a range of food stalls, six bars, dance performances and a fireworks finale.

Top of the bill are Radio 1 DJ Charlie Hedges, platinum selling DJ Nathan Dawe, and, last but not least, hometown heroes Bad Boy Chiller Crew.

Organiser Jon Oldroyd said he couldn’t wait for the festival to get underway after months of planning.

He said: “We’re really excited about it now, we’ve done really well on ticket sales and can’t wait for it to get going now.

“We’re so happy with our headliners, we’ve worked really hard to get together such a talented line-up.

“We’ve got our local guys Bad Boy Chiller Crew, coming off the back of Reading and Leeds Festivals where they were the number one trending act, so we’re over the moon they will be doing their thing in front of their home crowd.

“Closing the show we’ve got Nathan Dawe, who’s had something like 500 million streams this year and has been smashing festivals all over the country, when he is on it’s definitely going to be an amazing showstopper.

“Charlie Hedges, she presents BBC Radio 1’s Dance Anthems which is the biggest dance radio show in Europe and will be getting the evening going. We’re lucky to have someone of her level performing.

“There’s a real buzz about the city for the festival, it’s something that the city has definitely needed and we’ve engaged really well with our audience, they’re really excited.

“Hopefully it’s a real success and we can look towards the future of the festival and go for it again next year with something even bigger and better.”

As well as hosting Dance Anthems, Charlie Hedges will soon takeover Radio 1’s mid-morning show with co-hosts Ricky Haywood-Williams and Melvin Odoom, having previous hosted the 9pm slot following stints in commercial radio, and she is also a successful DJ in her own right.

Bradford’s Bad Boy Chiller Crew need no introduction following their meteoric rise to fame, and will play their hometown fresh off the back of huge shows at Reading and Leeds Festivals, with the crowd guaranteed to be singing along to every word as they bring endless energy to the stage.

Nathan Dawe has scored three top 20 hits since 2020, including ‘No Time for Tears’ with Little Mix, ‘Flowers’ with JayKae and Malika, and ‘Lighter’ with KSI, which reached number three in the charts. He also remixed Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s tune ‘Free’ earlier this summer.

Limited tickets for the event remain on sale for anyone who wants to attend and has not yet booked their place.

There is also an afterparty taking place at Queen’s Hall, which was formerly Flares nightclub, in the city centre for revellers who want to keep the party going, and it will feature a three hour set from Paul Taylor. Tickets for this event are also on sale on the festival’s website.

People can also buy money-saving drinks tokens in advance to spend less time queuing and more time raving on the day.

To book tickets, visit bradforddancefestival.co.uk