Bradford Live

Bradford Live is a large-scale music and entertainment venue in the centre of Bradford, set on Thornton Road overlooking City Park and a short walk from Bradford Interchange. Housed in the restored art deco building that generations knew as the New Victoria, the Gaumont and the Odeon, it reopened in 2025 after a long campaign and rebuild, with a capacity of up to 4,000. Run by Trafalgar Theatres, it hosts touring bands and solo artists, stand-up comedy, musicals and plays, dance, film screenings with live orchestra and family shows.

The building opened in 1930 as the New Victoria, a 3,318-seat cine-variety theatre and, at the time, one of the largest cinemas in the UK. Designed by the architect William Illingworth in a Renaissance Revival style, with copper-covered cupolas answering those on the neighbouring Alhambra, it combined a huge auditorium with a ballroom and a restaurant. The auditorium worked as a cinema, concert hall and stage venue, complete with orchestra pit, Wurlitzer organ and well-regarded acoustics, and it was the first cinema in Britain purpose-built for sound pictures.

Renamed the Gaumont in 1950, it became the biggest concert venue in the north of England and a fixture on major tours. Buddy Holly played here in 1958 during his only UK tour. In 1963 The Beatles appeared at the bottom of a bill headlined by the teenage Helen Shapiro, then returned in December that year to headline two sold-out houses and again in 1964 to open a UK tour. The Rolling Stones played from 1963 to 1965, first in support and later top of the bill, Dusty Springfield appeared in 1964, and Tom Jones gave the last concert here in 1968.

In 1969 the Gaumont was reworked as the Odeon Film Centre and a Top Rank bingo club, with the circle divided into two screens and the stalls turned over to bingo. The cinema finally closed in 2000 and the building stood derelict for more than 20 years. A grassroots campaign formed in 2002 to save it from demolition, culminating in the Hug the Odeon event of 2007, when around a thousand people encircled the building.

Bradford Council acquired the building in 2013 and, the following year, awarded Bradford Live the rights to redevelop it as a flexible multipurpose venue. Demolition of the later cinema structures in 2019 revealed the full auditorium for the first time in 50 years. Construction began in 2021 with local contractor RN Wooler and Tim Ronalds Architects, a practice known for heritage work including Hackney Empire and Wilton's Music Hall. Practical completion was certified in 2024, and Bradford Live reopened in 2025, the year Bradford held the title of UK City of Culture. Heritage funding supported a series of podcasts, a four-month exhibition and a book charting the building's story from 1930 to 2000.

Bradford Live aims to be a welcoming venue for every visitor, and its access team works on the basis that barriers can be physical, logistical, cultural or financial. The venue trains staff on an ongoing basis and works with organisations including Attitude is Everything.

• Access bookings and enquiries: call 0343 310 0026 or email BoxOffice.Bradford@trafalgar.global.
• Access Scheme registration: visitors are encouraged to register their access requirements using the venue's individual or group registration form, then email supporting documentation to the box office team.
• Companion tickets: a complimentary essential companion ticket is offered for all shows and workshops for guests with access requirements, subject to availability.
• Detailed information: the venue publishes a downloadable access information pack, and the box office team can answer anything it does not cover.

Additional security checks take place on entry, so it is worth arriving earlier than usual to get in comfortably.