The British Arts Festivals Association is trumpeting the best of the nation's arts events and festivals for 2001 - but there is no mention of Bradford's.

A bright colour leaflet from BAFA lists dozens of arts festivals all over the country, including the Hebden Bridge Arts Festival in June and the Ilkley Literature Festival in October, while 22 events are listed for May, the Leamington Czech Music Festival and the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music (London) among them.

But missing from the calendar of arts events is Bradford's biggest-ever literature festival, the BBC Music Live festival in Bradford, Leeds and York, and the annual Bradford Festival.

London-based BAFA told the Telegraph & Argus that 65,000 copies of the latest leaflet had been printed and distributed round the country.

This year, Yorkshire Arts had a one-year arrangement with BAFA to advertise arts festivals in the Yorkshire region on the two-page leaflet.

A Yorkshire Arts spokesman said Bradford's omission from the leaflet was an "oversight" due to information being stored on separate data-bases at the organisation's Dewsbury offices.

Jane Glaister, Bradford Council's director of arts, heritage and leisure, said she understood that Yorkshire Arts had contacted all the festival organisers it has links with towards the end of last year to ask if they wanted subsidised membership of BAFA and an entry in its new brochure.

But the Council was not contacted by Yorkshire Arts about the particular publication - although they have now agreed to liaise on such matters in future.

Tom Palmer, Bradford's literary officer responsible for organising the literature festival, told the T&A he thought he recalled an approach from BAFA last year.

"We opted out. It's just a list of festivals. If I had money to promote our festival I would use it differently because I want people from Bradford and the district to enjoy it," he added.

And Bradford Festival organiser, Allan Brack, said: "Bradford Festival was a member of BAFA until about six years ago. Membership cost us about £600 a year so we decided to use the money in other ways. We have never been offered free space on the leaflet."