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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Aaron Bower

‘The whole city was touched’: Bradford prepares to mark 40 years since Valley Parade fire

People stand in front of the burned-out stand at Valley Parade in 1985
Bradford was meant to be celebrating City winning the Third Division title on 11 May 1985. Instead, a tragedy unfolded. Photograph: SWpix/Shutterstock

Bradford is so often portrayed as a city divided. Sometimes, those descriptions can be correct. It is a place swamped with economic instability and problems that run deep, but over the past week, and again this weekend, the two things that unite its many communities have risen to the fore.

One is its football team. Bradford City, like the West Yorkshire city itself, have had their fair share of inauspicious moments, but their incredible escape from League Two last Saturday, scoring a 96th-minute winner to beat Fleetwood and secure automatic promotion for the first time this century, sparked jubilant scenes over the bank holiday weekend.

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