Bradford's Tower of Now Gets a Year-Long Encore in City Park

Bradford is a city in the United Kingdom that was chosen to be the UK City of Culture for 2025. As part of this celebration, a large sculpture called the Tower of Now was created by artist Saad Qureshi. The sculpture is about 15 meters tall and is made to look like different religious buildings from around the world. Each section of the tower represents a different style, including parts that look like mosques, temples, pagodas, synagogues, and even Bradford's own City Hall. The sculpture was placed in a small park called Hall Ings pocket park, right in the center of the city.

When the sculpture was first put up, the city council said it could stay until the end of May 2026. This was because the park was supposed to become a new entrance to the Bradford Interchange train station. However, plans for the station have changed, and the park will stay as a green space for now. Because of this, the council has decided to let the Tower of Now stay for another year, until May 2027.

Not everyone in Bradford agrees about the sculpture. One person wrote to the council to say that the tower divides people and does not make the city look better. They felt that it only causes arguments in the community. However, the council's planning officers said that art is always a matter of opinion. Some people will like it, and some will not. They believe that having different opinions about art is normal and that public art can help people think and talk about important ideas. The Tower of Now will continue to stand in the park, showing the many different cultures and religions that are part of Bradford's history and community.