Bradford's newest outdoor food and drink festival, Taste:BD, promises to be a celebration of local culture in the heart of the city.
Taking place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 April 2023, the festival will celebrate the very best of Bradford's food, drink and entertainment scenes.
Taste:BD will be held across two central locations in Bradford city centre, Centenary Square and City Park.
City Park’s mirror pool will play host to the heart of the festival's site, featuring a range of delicious food stalls, craft markets, family-friendly live entertainment, a cooking masterclass tent and a kid-friendly area jam-packed full of activities.
Image: Supplied
The site will be transformed into a beautiful, vibrant and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy, with newly rejuvenated carnival floats from Bradford’s proud festival heritage serving as giant centrepieces to the festival.
Meanwhile, Centenary Square will play host to some of the best bars and breweries in the area, with live DJ sets running later into the evening providing the best tunes to get you dancing to.
With over 40 food and drink partners taking part, guests can expect a vibrant selection of street food, drinks and arts to enjoy over the weekend.
Nicola Greenan, Strategic lead for City of Culture, Policy and Events from Bradford Council said: “We’re really excited to be hosting Taste:BD for the first time and welcoming people from near and far into Bradford to experience this cultural celebration.
"With most of the food and drink vendors being from either Bradford or the surrounding areas, this makes us even more looking forward to showcasing the culinary delights Yorkshire has to offer. With the Super Soapbox Challenge also happening in the city centre on Sunday 30th April, the weekend promises to be one not to be missed.”
The City Park side of the festival will be running from 12pm- 6pm on Saturday 29, and from 11am - 6pm on Sunday 30, with the Centenary Square side of the festival open till 10pm both days to ensure everyone can secure their bank holiday tipple.
Zayn Malik appears to have had a dig at his former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles, live on stage in Las Vegas.
The Bradford-born star was performing at the Dolby Live at Park MGM, where he’s nearing the end of a mini residency, when fans captured the awkward moment.
Zayn appeared to make a comment that felt very targeted towards his pal, who has announced a record-breaking run of shows at Wembley Stadium in London, along with residencies in other cities.
Addressing the crowd of fans, Zayn made a jibe about the ticket prices of the Harry Styles show, which has been upsetting fans since the Together Together tour was announced.
Fans have been slamming Harry for charging up to £466.24 for seated tickets, and pricing his standing tickets between £144.65 to £279.45 (those prices are for his 12-night run at Wembley).
It’s left a lot of people unable to afford to see the star on his newly-announced shows, which will see general tickets released tomorrow.
On stage last night, as seen in this TikTok video, Zayn said: “I just wanna say a big big thank you to everyone of you for being here tonight. You could’ve been anywhere, but you’ve decided to spend your night with me.
"Hopefully the ticket prices weren’t too high” before shrugging and wincing.
He then added: "Just saying… anyway" with a knowing smile as the crowd cheered.
Yorkshire railways to receive huge investment as government unveils £45 billion Northern Powerhouse Rail project
Clementine Hall
Regional leaders have confirmed a rail project in the North of England with first improvements taking place in Yorkshire.
The long-awaited Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project will see a whopping £45 billion worth of upgrades.
The first phase will see the construction of a new station in Bradford followed by upgrades in Leeds, York and Sheffield.
The electrification of lines between Sheffield and Leeds, Leeds and York and Leeds and Bradford will be the first priority and is expected to be completed in the 2030s.
The scheme has been described as "a once in a generation commitment to improving transport across the North".
Announcing the scheme, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "I spent three happy years in Leeds as a university student, a vibrant city I was proud to call home, but I've seen first-hand what underinvestment and empty pledges do to cities across the North.
"This government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change for millions of people through a major new rail network across the North that will deliver faster, more frequent services."
"This cycle has to end. No more paying lip service to the potential of the North, but backing it to the hilt. That's why this government is rolling up its sleeves to deliver real, lasting change for millions of people through Northern Powerhouse Rail: a major new rail network across the North that will deliver faster, more frequent services."
Stage two of the plan will include upgrades around Manchester, with the final stage delivering a new railway between Bradford and Huddersfield that wouldn't be delivered until the 2040s.
In a combined statement, the regional mayors of West, South and North Yorkshire said: "The long-term commitment will transform Yorkshire's transport network and deliver improved links across our region and on to Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle.
"It'll mean we can deliver quicker, more reliable journeys, opening up more choice around work, skills and opportunity for everyone across Yorkshire."
Clementine Hall -
21st April 2023 
