In 2022, after spending some time developing our festival structure further, we rebranded as Bradford South Asian Festival and relaunched as a 3-day weekender to be held every August, along with a series of year round community arts and heritage events throughout the year.

That summer the team created its first full three-day festival programme under the theme of ''Azaadi' ('Freedom'), to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the partition and independence of India, and the creation of Pakistan. It was an emotional, fun-filled and enlightening festival, with visitor numbers peaking and a real sense that we had found our own 'place' in Bradford's cultural calendar. Last year, the journey continued, as we streamlined our offer even further to put on a fun and inclusive weekender under the theme of J.O.Y (Just Own You).
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Our festival takes a borderless approach, celebrating and valuing every country and region of South Asia equally, but also acknowledging how that ties in with and is actually inseparable from our very personal and equally precious Britishness and 'Bradfordness'.  We recognise the importance of our multi-layered identities in shaping us, our communities and our stories. Our sense of 'self' and the stories we tell are rooted in every aspect and layer of our lived-experience, whether that be biological (ie, what's in our literal DNA) or in relation to politics, faith and socio-economic factors (our social DNA).
Above all, BSAF's raison d'etre is to bring joy to the masses. It is a space for us, as diverse South Asian communities, to be entertained, have fun and celebrate all of what makes us who we are - and to share that with our neighbours, friends, colleagues and others of all backgrounds. So much of the current and historic discourse about brown people and the brown experience is earnest to the extreme, and all too often falls into the same old patterns of othering. But by telling 'Our Stories, Our Culture, Our Way', we have not only created a space to reclaim and rewrite the narratives that have traditionally been imposed on us, we are welcoming the world into the conversation that WE are leading.
Bradford South Asian Festival is a gift to our communities, driven and led by brown British Bradfordians, and we welcome people of all backgrounds to participate. At the heart of our festival is a commitment to inclusivity, diversity, cohesion and harmony.
Join us on our journey, and help us write the real story.