ST GEORGE’S Hall is attracting 9,000 more visitors a year since it underwent a major refurbishment.

Last February the grand concert hall re-opened after a £9.8 million refurbishment.

And new Council figures show that in the first 12 months since the re-opening, 62,000 people attended performances at the Bradford Council run theatre - 9,000 more than the 12 month period before the hall shut.

The restoration of the 1,350 seater concert hall dubbed ‘the people’s palace’ was made possible with funding from Bradford Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The figures come from a budget update that is going to Bradford Council's Executive next Tuesday.

Welcome to Yorkshire hold annual event at St George's Hall

It says the theatre department will underspend its budget due to the success of St George's Hall and "better than anticipated" ticket sales for Les Miserables, which ran in the Alhambra Theatre for several weeks over Summer.

Ticket sales for the Alhambra have risen dramatically in recent years, according to the budget report. In 2017/18 there were 188,000 "ticketed attendees" at the theatre. By 2019/20 the number had leaped to 219,000.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We can all agree that the restoration and refurbishment of our splendid St George’s Hall has been a great success.

“We have a packed programme of amazing shows, concerts and events for this year and the heritage activities are another great way for people to really connect with the building. It is no surprise that visitor numbers are up as it truly is the people’s palace.”

The extensive refurbishment of St George's Hall included a wide-range of work both to its exterior and interior.

As well as major works to the roof, windows, electrics and stonework, the front-of-house areas have been increased, where possible, and have been decorated sympathetically to suit the heritage of the building.

Since it opened in 1863 the Hall has hosted a variety of acts including Charles Dickens, Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Kiss and more recently Bastille.