Bradford to take centre stage in major tourism conference

Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre is to host the 2018 Welcome to Yorkshire tourism conference.

The Y conference puts ‘Yorkshire on Show’ and is the UK’s largest annual tourism event of its kind.

The special guests at Y18 on March 21 are yet to be fully revealed, but the audience will get to hear about new campaigns, initiatives and partnerships planned for Yorkshire.

These will include an in-depth look at Welcome to Yorkshire’s garden design for the 2018 competition at the Chelsea Flower Show and news about how Yorkshire is going global by taking some top theatre productions and music events to exciting locations across the world.

The iconic Alhambra Theatre officially opened in March 1914 and is considered to be the jewel in Bradford’s crown, presenting the best in large scale entertainment including musicals, dance, drama and Yorkshire’s biggest pantomime.

The theatre seats over a thousand people who visit to enjoy everything from ballet to Shakespeare and major West End shows including The Lion King, War Horse, Billy Elliot, Wicked, Mary Poppins, and the recently announced Miss Saigon.

Adam Renton, general manager for Bradford Theatres, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Y conference for the first time next year. We look forward to attracting a full house to this high profile event and hearing about some of the exciting things going on in the county.”

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Our annual Y conference is a fantastic opportunity for Yorkshire business and industry, arts, entertainment and sport to come together and share inspirational plans and ideas to make exciting things happen across the county. Some of our focus for 2018 will be supporting each other to put Yorkshire on Show across the world and The Alhambra in Bradford is a brilliant venue for such a gathering.”