Loading Bay Case Study

AtlasIED Atmosphere Powers Music and Messaging at Bradford’s Loading Bay Arts Space

Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture (Bradford 2025) was a year-long celebration of the city and district in which audiences in their millions attended events spotlighting Bradford’s dynamic contemporary arts and culture, encompassing dance, theatre, film, music, and even food.

Created specifically for the year, Loading Bay was a new pop-up arts space in a repurposed warehouse for Bradford 2025. It presented everything from gigs and comedy nights to exhibitions, immersive theatre shows, and even live video games across two performance spaces and a gallery. Every day was different.

To ensure the best possible experience for artists, performers, and audience members alike, Bradford 2025’s technical team, led by Venue Technical Manager George Jackson and Director of Production Ben Pugh, enlisted Bradford-based production specialists Pro Audio Systems (PAS) to supply and install much of the technology required for Loading Bay’s extensive program. In addition to installing the main front-of-house audio systems for the performance spaces, PAS also provided several key ancillary components for the project. This included a background audio system and a venue-wide paging system, both controlled by an AtlasIED Atmosphere multi-zone audio processor.

“Loading Bay wanted flexible control over the background music in its gallery and outside spaces, as well as a complete paging system for the venue’s live events program,” said Dave Simpson, Business Development Director at Pro Audio Systems. “We immediately recommended AtlasIED’s Atmosphere platform. Atmosphere is our go-to processor for multi-zoned audio systems. Anywhere from retail and hospitality settings to fitness centers, schools, and visitor attractions, it’s an ideal platform, offering simple personal control from an end-user’s own mobile device.”

An Atmosphere AZM8 eight-zone digital signal processor facilitated Loading Bay’s venue-wide paging system and enabled background music to be played in the gallery and outdoor areas through a combination of pendant and wall-mounted loudspeakers. A built-in message player, virtual wall controllers, learning ambient noise sensing, Tilter Filter™, auto-gain, GPIO, room combine and more make the AZM8 a processing powerhouse.

PAS installed Bluetooth and RCA audio inputs in multiple rooms to accommodate the pop-up venue’s dynamic, multifunctional nature. Music, presentations, or announcements could be played via Bluetooth from mobile devices via secure, rights-based access anywhere within range — ideal for temporary setups like Loading Bay. RCA connectors are still found on many consumer and semi-pro devices, such as DVD players, media streamers, and DJ gear, so having inputs available eliminates the need for patch cables or custom wiring to the audio system for temporary events.

Paging throughout Loading Bay was initiated from an Atmosphere X-ZPS zoned paging station. Equipped with a full-color touchscreen, the paging stations offer zone paging, all-call, and custom group paging, along with a high-quality gooseneck microphone. The X-ZPS also served as a system controller for volume, source selection, message recall, and more. Loading Bay used the paging stations to make general announcements about performances (e.g., silencing mobile phones, no flash photography) and to notify attendees when performances were about to start.

The AZM8 gave Loading Bay flexible control over background music in its gallery and outdoor spaces, with feedback from the Bradford 2025 team being overwhelmingly positive. Following its huge success last year, welcoming more than 42,000 people through its doors, Loading Bay will reopen in May 2026, adding to the growing demand for cultural spaces in the city center.

“The timeframe around Bradford 2025 meant that things had to progress very quickly and efficiently with everyone hitting the ground running and pulling in the same direction, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Simpson. “The system worked beautifully, and it had a real impact on what could be done in the space. The team was absolutely delighted with how it all turned out.”

About Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture

Bradford became the fourth UK City of Culture in January 2025. The district was selected by the UK Government in May 2022 from a record-breaking 20 bids, following Derry~Londonderry (2013), Hull (2017) and Coventry (2021) to take on one of the most prestigious and transformative titles in UK culture.

Bradford 2025 took place throughout Bradford District, which covers 141 square miles across West Yorkshire. The program celebrated Bradford’s heritage and dynamic contemporary culture, with performances, exhibitions, events and activities inspired by the extraordinary variety of its landscape, from the city’s historic center to the breathtaking countryside surroundings. Most of all, it celebrated the people of Bradford, from local artists and creative organizations to the diverse communities who call Bradford home.

Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture was delivered by Bradford Culture Company a registered charity (1194599). The designation has brought significant investment to the region and been a catalyst for development. It is set to have a lifelong impact from its education initiatives, skills and training programs, capital investment for cultural organizations, and opportunities for local people.