Bradford can enter the new Millennium in the knowledge that it is filled with remarkable people doing tremendous things for the benefit of others. The district is packed with unsung heroes, many of whom have now received the recognition they deserve thanks to last night's Bradford's Best Gala Night at the Cedar Court Hotel.

Those being honoured at the prestigious, celebrity-packed event were the individuals and groups short-listed for the awards in the ten categories of this T&A campaign to seek out the people who the judges considered to have made the most significant contributions to the community.

However, those chosen were only the tip of the iceberg. We were overwhelmed by the response as readers galore nominated their particular champions. Whittling the nominations down to short-lists and then selecting the winners in each category was a mammoth job.

Those who did not leave the event clutching a trophy or who even failed to win a place on the short list should not take that as a sign that their efforts and achievements were deemed less worthwhile than those of others. Judging this competition was the toughest of tasks. For every winner, there were many others who deserved to win. But the judges had only 11 trophies to allocate.

What was clear enough from the original long list of nominations, and from last night's gala celebration, is that at the end of 1999 this city, with its remarkable history, remains a very special, caring place. Bradford's Best is not merely a slogan. It is a proud statement of fact.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.