MORE details of the performers who will be leading a re-branded Bradford Festival next month have been announced.

BD: Festival will take place in the city centre on Friday, August 19 and Saturday, August 20, and will feature world-class artists and performers, including national names and home-grown talent.

Highlights of the festival include The Dream Engine, who opened Bradford's award-winning City Park in 2012, who are returning a decade later with a spectacular, new aerial performance, Loveart.

It will see a 12m-high, inflatable red heart which frames an aerial show.

The festival also welcomes back Peaceophobia by Bradford’s own Common Wealth, Speakers Corner and Bradford Modified Club, in co-production with Fuel; staged in a car park with a Supra, a Golf and a classic Nova.

The quintessentially Bradfordian show, which won rave reviews when it last toured, explores how cars and faith have become an escape and a sanctuary for three Muslim Pakistani men.

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Front Room Poetry will create an outdoor sitting room in the car park of Kala Sangam Arts Centre with performances from some of the best poets and lyricists from around the UK, including Bradford’s own Kirsty Taylor.

The Clean North Crew will bring a hip-hop vibe to the festivities, with high-energy break dancing performances and workshops for kids of all ages.

The theatre offer includes The Bull and the Moon by DeNada Dance Theatre, created with funding from Bradford Producing Hub. The outdoor performance blends contemporary dance, flamenco and theatre to tell a heart-warming story about the importance of being oneself, family and LGBTQ+ inclusivity; and Leave the Light on for Me by England's leading learning disability performance and live arts company Mind the Gap, a joyous and rebellious outdoor performance that explores climate change and justice from a fresh perspective.

Other national artists appearing at the festival include Whispered Tales with Distant Drums, a digital art installation that tells the story of Reggae Sound System culture through music, poetry, dance and animation; Autin Dance Theatre with Out of the Deep Blue, a moving tale about the climate emergency told through dance and featuring Eko, a 13-foot-tall Sea Giant Puppet; and WILD by Motionhouse, a dance-circus performed within and atop a forest of tall poles.

Councillor Ferriby, portfolio holder for healthy people and places at Bradford Council said: “The re-imaged BD: Festival is a great example of our ambitions, our energy and our dedication to bringing world-class cultural experiences to the people of Bradford district and beyond, whilst also showing the world who we are and what we can do.”