Getty ImagesA group of Bradford City fans will go from singing on the terraces to performing as a choir for a BBC programme called “Bantam of the Opera”.
The fans – known as the Bantams – will be taught to sing to mark the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations.
They will be supported by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, opera singer Lesley Garrett and sports commentator and TV presenter Chris Kamara.
Their progress will be documented on Radio Leeds, with the Bantam of the Opera available on BBC Sounds from April.
Jacob Tomlinson/BBCBradford City fans have been known as the Bantams since 1908. It is believed to symbolise the club’s fighting spirit.
Kamara, who had a 20-year playing career and is also a former manager of Bradford City, is leading a call-out for singers to take part.
The broadcaster, who was diagnosed with the speech condition apraxia in 2022, has pledged he will perform with the Bantam singers at Valley Parade this year.
He said he had used singing to help him with his speech, wellbeing and mental health.
As well as being named City of Culture, 2025 also marks 40 years since the Valley Parade stadium fire, which claimed the lives of 56 supporters.
Kamara said: “This is an incredibly important year for Bradford, both the city and the football club.
“The power of music can be enormous, singing is a great way to bring people together, whilst being so positive for mental health.
“Singing has always been a part of my life, even when times have been tough.”
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Getty ImagesThe programme title is a play on Lord Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera, basted on the novel by Gaston Leroux.
English soprano singer Lesley Garrett will also be involved in key moments throughout the year.
She said: “Wherever there is football, there is singing. The two go together like fish and chips, like Yorkshire pudding and gravy.
“Community singing is the way we bind together to express powerful shared passions and opera is the most passionate form of singing there is.
“I am so excited to see and hear what the Bantams can achieve musically, but even more excited to see the joyous and uplifting effect that music-making will have on their lives.”
Fans interested in being part of the choir can apply online.
Bradford City Football Club have agreed to support the call out for singers with two community outreach events at Valley Parade in January.
The first will be their home game against Walsall on 25 January. The second on Tuesday 28 January when Bradford take on Morecambe.
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