Bradford Literature Festival Receives Two Awards For Best Civic & Social Organisation Business

Bradford Literature Festival (BLF) has been announced as Best Civic & Social Organisation Business of the Year at both the 2026 SME500 UK and the Global 100 awards.

The SME500 UK recognises the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises driving growth, resilience and innovation. They celebrate organisations that are making a difference in the UK. The Global 100 celebrates the world’s top companies and leaders who are driving growth, innovation and influence throughout the international business community.

BLF is dedicated to making literature and culture accessible to all and these awards are fantastic recognition of the efforts to open up the festival to everyone, regardless of circumstance. The festival's pioneering Ethical Ticketing Policy offers free entry to festival events for individuals; BLF also offers free entry to local community groups through the Community Access Codes scheme.

In 2025, over 187,000 people attended the BLF’s more than 750 events, with 61% of all tickets used free of charge. 2026 aims to be even bigger. Taking place Friday 3 July to Sunday 12 July at various venues spread across the city of Bradford, the festival is 10 days of talks, discussions, panels, workshops, walks, tours, and more. As well as this, BLF runs an annual education programme. Expect to see some of the world’s biggest authors, historians, scientists, artists, and more performing.

The festival programme will be released later this spring; sign up to the Bradford Literature Festival mailing list to be the first to see it.