City of Culture 2025 celebrations are underway in Bradford, with hundreds of events taking place across the district every day.The Bradford Big Festival, organised in partnership with Bradford City Council and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, was a wonderful mix of local communities and cultures from around the world. The colourful event aimed to bring together different communities on one platform and showcase their traditions and arts. The event featured a variety of cultural programmes including traditional dance, Qawwali and musical performances.
The youth and artists of Bradford showcased their talents, which was highly appreciated by the audience. The ceremony was attended by Bradford Consul General of Pakistan Zahid Ahmed Jatoi, Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe, former Lord Mayors Muhammad Ajib, Ghazanfar Khaliq, Councilor Muhammad Shabbir, Councilor Muhammad Imran Mani, Councilor Muhammad Islam, Councilor Safina Kausar, Councilor Muhammad Ishtiaq and a large number of community members.
On this occasion, special awards were presented by Bradford Council to prominent figures of the city in recognition of their services. Among them, Chaudhry Muhammad Malik, who has been a pioneer in serving the community in Bradford for more than half a century, was awarded for his outstanding services to the community. Similarly, the late Khwaja Pervez, who served people without discrimination throughout his life, was paid tribute to his family for their social and cultural services. An important feature of the ceremony was that Bradford Council named a highway in the city after the late Khwaja Pervez in recognition of his services.
The road has been named “Parvez Walk”. This decision by Bradford Council has been a source of pride for the Bradford community. The award was presented by Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe. On this occasion, a Bhangra performance was performed to the beat of Qawwali and Dhol, to which the participants also danced. Representatives of various communities participating in the event expressed their happiness that events like the Bradford Vestiwal promote harmony, tolerance and cultural diversity in the city. The participants stressed that such events should be held regularly in the future so that the new generation remains connected to their traditions and values.
By: Yorkshire Nama
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