A protected Victorian cemetery in Bradford will be the unlikely venue for an arts festival.

Supporters of Undercliffe Cemetery have come up with the idea of using the sprawling site, with its 23,000 graves, as the location for an event next month.

To help make it possible, Undercliffe Cemetery Charity has called on local artists to get onboard the project, which will raise funding as well as awareness about the cemetery, which is recognised as one of the finest Victorian examples in the country.

The date has been set for Saturday, July 7, from noon to 4pm and it is called Revelling In Secret Spaces – an apt name, says artist Emily Kecic, who will be getting involved in the day.

“I’m thrilled to be involved in another unique event for Bradford because the cemetery is a real gem that should be shown off,” she said.

Last May, she illuminated the burial ground with the help of the public. People were able to follow a trail, with battery-powered candles placed at well-known monuments and memorial stones.

The event was part of a live art installation to help with her theatre course at York St John University.

At this event, visitors will be encouraged to bring along their camera, find the Cottingley fairies, write poems, help paint a cemetery map, listen to music, trace their family history and enjoy refreshments in the festival’s Promenade Cafe under a marquee.

Jacqui Ambler, deputy chairman of the Undercliffe Cemetery Charity, said: “I hope all ages will come and unearth Bradford’s strong history and current local creative talent at Undercliffe Cemetery.”

“The cemetery is one of the finest examples of a Victorian cemetery in the country and when people walk around they'll realise how much of Bradford's history there is here.”

Other interactive activities and entertainment lined up for the day include a roving theatre performance which includes Sir Titus Salt, the Bronte Sisters and Hamlet’s grave diggers under the direction of Peter Huntley from Bradford Playhouse.

There will also be a Photography Challenge by professional photographer Tony O’Connell and singing from the Bradford Festival Choral Society.