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Culture in Liverpool

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#1 · (Edited)
http://www.liverpool08.com/AboutUs/YourQuestions/index.asp

Culture Uncovered - Your Questions Answered
What is the European Capital of Culture?
The European Capital of Culture programme gives Europe an ideal opportunity to celebrate the culture of Europe's great cities and to involve the community in that celebration. There will be a new European Capital of Culture every year from 2005 onwards. In 2008 the European Capital of Culture will be in the UK and Liverpool beat off 11 other contenders for the title.

Who's behind the Capital of Culture?
The Liverpool Culture Company is the organisation set up by Liverpool City Council to deliver the culture programme up to and beyond 2008. However, everyone is involved. Working with the stakeholders is critical to making this happen, including cultural institutions, communities, creative industries, artists, schools and businesses.

What is Culture?
Our definition of culture is broad. Culture is everything from arts and entertainment to music and sport. The art on offer in our city is second to none and was a major factor in us being awarded Capital of Culture status. Eight world-class museums and galleries, a contemporary arts festival to rival Venice, a dedicated centre for arts and creative technology, FACT, among other world-class venues. Liverpool has also created one of the largest funding packages for community art in the UK. More than 80 groups have benefitted from Creative Communities grants which have triggered multi-million pound match funding.

Why is the Capital of Culture title for us all?
Liverpool is already known around the world for its maritime heritage, architecture, music and sport. The Capital of Culture title will place the city firmly on the global map. One and a half milllion extra visitors are expected to attend the many world-class festivals and events that will take place in the run-up to and including 2008.

Everyone can play their part, from performing to volunteering. For more information on volunteering click on Liverpool Welcome on the left hand side.

How will the Capital of Culture title benefit Liverpool?
Between now and 2008, and beyond, Liverpool will benefit from literally billions of pounds worth of investment, thousands of new jobs and massive regeneration which will see it reborn as a premier European city - one with a more competitive economy, healthier, safer and more involved communities and one where everyone has more opportunities to have a better life. In 1990, Glasgow was the last UK city to have the Capital of Culture status, and experienced substantial economic and social benefits during its period as the City of Culture, both strengthening and promoting its own impressive regeneration.

What will happen between now and 2008?
The years 2005 to 2007 are the 'dress rehearsals' for the grand finale of the 12-month festival in 2008. During this time we will be strengthening our impressive events programme and attracting new high profile events. We will also continue to work with hundreds of community organisations and thousands of residents to help build enthusiasm, creativity and participation for Capital of Culture.

In the build up to the Liverpool European Capital of Culture in 2008, each year will have a special theme to highlight different aspects of the city's unique culture and to hone our ability to deliver world-class events.

2005 Sea Liverpool
2005 celebrates Liverpool's maritime legacy featuring, among many other highlights, the 25th annual Mersey River Festival, the start of the Clipper Round the World Yatch Race and culminating in the bi-centennial celebration of the Battle of Trafalgar.

2006 Liverpool Performs
2006 will celebrate Liverpool's amazing track record in performance, from the stage to the gallery, from the football pitch to the boardroom. Highlights include the 4th Liverpool Biennial and the British Golf Open Championship, returning to Hoylake, Wirral, for the first time in 38 years. It will also include 'a city in transition' using international and local artists in developing artistic programmes to explore the changes in Liverpool.

2007 Liverpool's 800th Birthday
King John granted the charter for Liverpool's city status way back in 1207, so get ready for one hexk of a birthday party in 2007. Look forward to a whole year of festivals and activities showcasing 800 years of heritage, culminating in the official birthday celebrations on 28th August 2007. It's a great time to re-connect with long-lost friends and family across the world.

What will happen in 2008?
Where do we start? Liverpool's 2008 programme will be Europe's biggest and most diverse celebration of culture with more than 50 international festivals in art, architecture, ballet, comedy, cinema, food, literature, music, opera, science and theatre. 2008 is set to involve one billion people from more than 60 countries, across five continents. Events confirmed for 2008 so far include: Sir Simon Rattle to conduct the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; the 5th Liverpool Biennial; European Amateur Boxing Championships; The Open at Royal Birkdale; the start of the Tall Ships Race; and the homecoming of the 07-08 Clipper Round the World Yatch Race.

Is it just for visitors or can local people get involved?
A major aim of Liverpool 08 is to harness the wealth of artistic and creative talent of our people. Local people form the heart of our programme and this year we will escalate the number of community initiatives on the journey towards 2008 and beyond. From a festival for children taking its first steps in 2005, through to building on the successes of Goodbye Litter and our neighbourhood programmes, to dealing with serious issues that impact on the health of our city, such as the 'Its Not OK' violence and young people project, there is literally something for everyone to participate in.

Who is funding the Capital of Culture?
Capital of Culture is funded by both public and private sector organisations. We have already achieved success in sponsorship from the private sector and support from government agencies.

How will the city change as a result of Liverpool 2008?
Work is well underway on regenerating the city in time for 2008. Construction has started on Europe's biggest city centre redevelopment scheme which is creating a new heart for Liverpool. The £900 million Grosvenor project will see 2 million square feet of new leisure and retail space created, with 30 new buildings including two department stores and two hotels.

The £400 million King's Waterfront development will bring a concert arena, conference facilities, hotels, residential and leisure uses to the banks of the Mersey. In addition, work is underway on a new £15 million state-of-the-art cruise liner facility. And that's not all, building work will continue to 2015 and beyond.
 
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#2 ·
Culture city seeks China boost ....

http://www.merseysidetoday.co.uk/

Culture city seeks China boost

Millions of tourists from China are being targeted by Liverpool as it seeks to capitalise on the UK's new status as a must-see tourist destination.

Next week Liverpool will host the first official tourism delegation from China to the UK - with preparations for it's European Capital of Culture years at the top of the agenda

The Chinese government have granted the UK with Accredited Destination Status, which means it will be easier for its people to gain visas to travel to the UK.

Liverpool will use its international role in 2008 to woo delegates from its Chinese twin city Shanghai, who will make the groundbreaking visit to the city on Wednesday and Thursday, July 27-28.

In what could transform the city's £600m a year tourism economy, Liverpool's tourism industry - and preparations for Capital of Culture in 2008 - will top the agenda for the 40-strong group of influential China-based tour operators, journalists and officials.

Liverpool's long-established links with China, and Shanghai in particular, as well as proposals for a major new exhibition on China's Forbidden City at World Museum Liverpool, in partnership with the Imperial Palace Museum, Beijing in 2008, makes the two-day visit to Merseyside a focal point of their UK tour.

As part of their visit to the city they will be given a tour of attractions such as Liverpool Football Club and cultural jewels such as the newly opened World Museum Liverpool and hear about new developments like the £15m Cruise Liner facility.

During their time here the delegates, which also includes officials from Beijing, hosts of the 2008 Olympics, will see tourist attractions and meet civic representatives and staff from the tourism team at Liverpool Culture Company and The Mersey Partnership.

Liverpool is in a strong position to capitalise on potential millions of tourists, thanks to its sister city links, the standing of its football clubs, The Beatles, the fact its home to Europe's oldest Chinese community and the regeneration of the city as it works up to 2008.

Council leader Mike Storey said: ''The UK's new destination status for China is an amazing opportunity for Liverpool. Being European Capital of Culture in 2008 is a huge advantage and greatly adds to our appeal and special relationship with China and its people. The fact that the city is undergoing a £3bn renaissance and preparing to welcome millions of visitors in 2008 is a great platform to impress this hugely influential delegation.''

The UK tour is being co-ordinated by VisitBritain in tandem with the Liverpool Culture Company and The Mersey Partnership.

Martin King, Director of Tourism at The Mersey Partnership added: "This is an important visit. Chinese tour operators serve a domestic market that offers huge potential to Liverpool and Merseyside. The fact hat Liverpool and Shanghai are already twinned, and that Liverpool has such strong and well-established historic links with China, means we are in a strong position to promote our City Region as an attractive and exciting tourist destination for visitors from China."

Kris Donaldson, Marketing Director of the Liverpool Culture Company, said: ''The opening of the Chinese tourism market to the UK is perfect timing for Liverpool. The city has fantastic links on so many levels and has a huge international profile over there - probably only second to London. We will show the delegation how much of a great time we can offer Chinese tourists be it from a heritage point of view to pure entertainment - and they don't have to wait until 2008 to experience it.''

Professor Drummond Bone, Chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company, said: ''Liverpool's links with China are very strong and constantly developing be it through sport exchanges with Shanghai or business links on the back of the Clipper Race. The Chinese tourism market will be one of the fastest growing of this century and the city has a fantastic chance to catch a head start on the rest of the UK and present itself as a major destination.''
 
#3 ·
Business Community Challenge to Endure Three Year Charity Triathlon

City Residential — News

http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=5081912#post5081912

4/8/2005
Business Community Challenge to Endure Three Year Charity Triathlon — A leading Liverpool property agent is about to take part in an epic Euro challenge to raise money for charity.

City Residential’s Alan Bevan is attempting a daring triathlon in each of the cities of culture in the lead up to Liverpool taking the crown in 2008.

Alan has also thrown down the gauntlet and is challenging members of Merseyside’s business community to compete in the Culture Cities Triathlon.
“We’re linking the next three European Capitals of Culture through a different triathlon event each year while raising money for charity.
“This year it’s a 160 mile cycle ride from Liverpool to Cork in aid of the Claire House appeal. Next year we plan to run a marathon in Patras, Athens and in 2007 it’s a five mile swim through the gorge in Luxembourg city. In 2008 we’ll undertake a challenge set by the public,” said Alan.
Alan is urging businesses to support the Culture Cities Triathlon challenge by pledging money to sponsor their athletic colleagues.

“We have launched a brand new website www.culturetriathlon.com that is not only simple to use but also secure so that people can pledge cash online or register for the triathlon,” added Alan.

The Culture Cities Triathlon has already attracted two supporters. Marketing agency Paver Downes has designed the website and is providing PR support and Irish Sea Express.com is kindly donating travel to and from Dublin where the cycle race will begin.

Area Fundraiser at Claire House, Ron Hutchinson said: “The Culture Cities Triathlon is not only a novel and challenging way for member of the business community to raise money for charity, it also helps to increase Liverpool’s profile as major European city.”

Businesses can register online by visiting www.cutlturetriathlon.com or call Alan Bevan at City Residential on 0151 231 6100. Organisers are also looking for more corporate sponsors and partners.
 
#5 ·
White water rafting......

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/...=dock-plan-for-white-water-fun-name_page.html

Dock plan for white water fun Sep 30 2005

By Adrian Butler, Liverpool Echo

WHITE water rafting could come to Albert Dock for 2008.

Plans have been drawn up to build a white water rafting course, along with four pitches for canoe polo to give the British squad a new home.

Together they would form a centre for canoeing on Liverpool waterfront.

The news comes after deputy prime minister John Prescott revealed that £7.5m of European money was being given to extend the Leeds-Liverpool canal through the Pier Head.

British Waterways, which will carry out the project, has appointed an architect and consulting firm to look into whether the canoeing scheme should go ahead.

A group including city council and Liverpool Vision is keen to make better use of under-used waters around the Grade I listed dock.

They want the planned canoe facilities to become the base of the Friends of Allonby Canoe Club, home to the British canoe polo squad.

A spokeswoman for POP, which is preparing the study, said: "It will be exciting for Liverpool people to get involved in some white water rafting and other activities.

"We want as many people as possible to have their say." If approved, the canoe centre will join the £17m scheme to build a 2km canal through Pier Head, linking canal and waterfront.

City officials predict the link will create almost 200 jobs and bring in 200,000 extra visitors and 4,500 boat trips, worth around £2m a year to Liverpool's economy.

The scheme, given the go-ahead by the council earlier this year, should be completed in late 2007 in time for Capital of Culture.
 
#6 ·
The Liverpool delegation is flying to Riga on the inaugural Ryanair flight from Liver

http://www.merseyside.org/displaypage.asp?page=31

WORLD HERITAGE WATERFRONTS
COME TOGETHER

Mersey Waterfront will take centre-stage at WaterfrontExpo 2005 in Riga, Latvia, Tuesday 27- Thursday 29 September.

This international event will bring together hundreds of experts in waterfront design, construction, management and sustainable development from a diverse range of waterfront locations including Hong Kong, Helsinki, Mumbai, and Athens.

The Liverpool delegation is flying to Riga on the inaugural Ryanair flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The group includes Louise Hopkins, Director of Mersey Waterfront - the regeneration programme funded through the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and hosted by The Mersey Partnership (TMP). She will be making a joint presentation alongside Jim Gill, Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision, on the major opportunities the Merseyside coastline offers to investors, visitors and residents.

Riga itself has striking parallels with Liverpool; it is a waterfront city which was Capital of Culture in 2001, also it's 800th anniversary year, and incorporates part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.


"WaterfrontExpo is a key opportunity to share current thinking and experience about waterfront regeneration and development worldwide," says Louise Hopkins. "It also provides us with a global platform to showcase Mersey Waterfront's unique mix of green spaces and urban locations along 135km of coastline, ranging from a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to working docks, sand dunes, coastal woodlands and Victorian promenades.

"The Mersey Waterfront programme is currently funding and co-ordinating over 40 regeneration and environmental improvement projects, transcending local authoritiy boundaries. Our presentation at Riga will highlight how these diverse but interconnected schemes along the wider coastline can add value to major riverside developments like Liverpool's Kings Waterfront."

Jim Gill, Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision, added; "The Mersey Waterfront is a major asset to the city of Liverpool. Our strategy for the regeneration of the City Centre waterfront will bring major economic and cultural benefits to the city and the wider region.

"We are looking forward to the Riga conference. It is pleasing to know that other European cities are keen to use Liverpool's experience as a model for their own regeneration."

More information can be found at: <http://www.waterfrontexpo.com/>
 
#7 ·
We should carve his name with pride .....

We should carve his name with pride Sep 27 2005

Daily Post

They are among the world's most famous symbols. But, in the anger of the Great War, their German creator was forgotten. Now, at last, he is to be honoured. David Charters reports.

With his skilled hands and soaring imagination, the man with the modest smile could give life to a block of wood.

But nobody ever spoke of the gentle carver's greatest creations, even when they became one of the most potent symbols in the world - silent sentinels over a throbbing port, ever-watching the sullen-grey roll of the water below them.

Now, 50 years after his death, a forgotten and shunned German is to be remembered for designing the two birds which perch high on the Royal Liver Building, at the Pier Head.

A plaque in his memory is to be placed in the entrance hall to the building. It should be up in plenty of time for the celebrations of 2007, marking the 800th anniversary of King John granting Liverpool its Royal Charter, which provides the ideal lead into the following year's European Capital of Culture.

After all, we are talking of a European who made a huge contribution to Liverpool's recent history, though his name will not be familiar to many of you.

For most of the history books do not mention Carl Bernard Bartels, designer of the Liver Birds, known to people all over the world as the emblem of Liverpool.

Yes, New York has its Statue of Liberty, or Liberty Enlightening the World, the 150ft colossus of the sculptor August Bartholdi, placed on an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also gave Paris its 984ft tower.

But the association between Liverpool and its birds is unique. They are on the crest of numerous companies and organisations, most notably Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Football Club.

It is impossible to calculate how much they would have been worth if they were a commercial brand - but think of a big number and then add noughts until you fall asleep.

More than all that, though, they were a vision of comfort to homeward-bound sailors. If the Liver Birds were on their perch, God must be in his Heaven. Their disappearance into the distance has swelled lumps in the throats of the thousands leaving the river, some never to return.

Of course, they weren't the port's first Liver Birds. But the design of the pair atop the Liver Building became the standard, copied by everyone else.

Their "father", Carl Bernard Bartels, was the son of Carl Julius Bartels, a wood carver from the Black Forest. The boy was brought up in Stuttgart and trained under his father, before coming to Britain in 1887 with his young bride, Mathilde Zappe. He was 21.

The couple immediately liked the country and decided to make it their home. They took up British nationality and settled in the London borough of Haringey, where they had a son, Bernard Charles Bartels, and a daughter, Maggie.

Gradually, their father was gaining a reputation as an exquisite worker in wood. Meanwhile, in Liverpool, in 1908, work began on the construction of the Royal Liver Building, designed by the architect Walter Aubrey Thomas. An international competition was held to find a design for the two birds which were to sit on its twin clock towers.

Carl won. His birds were made by the Bromsgrove Guild, a group talented in the Arts and Crafts movement which ceased to be many years ago. The famous building, in many ways similar to those in New York, was completed in 1911.

Three years later, the Great War broke out. Anti-German feeling swept through the UK. Yet, since the middle of the 19th century, Germans had been settling in Liverpool. Pork butchers from the Hohenlohe area, near Stuttgart, knotted their sausages. The fruity smells of baking pastries and the steam from sauerkraut joined the air of a city already rich in aromas.

Other Germans worked in the sugar refineries and public houses. But that did little to assuage the hostility of local people. In this mood, Bartels's blueprints and sketches of the Liver Birds were lost or destroyed.

Even more seriously, Bartels was interned with others of German origin in a camp at Knockaloe, on the Isle of Man, even though he had been a naturalised Briton for more than 20 years.

Conditions were harsh at the camp, but a spirit of camaraderie developed, particularly among the artists. In Liverpool, anger against the Germans reached its zenith with the sinking of the Lusitania, inbound to the port, in May, 1915. There were riots and German properties were stoned and looted.

After the war, Bartels had to return to Germany, though we are not sure why, leaving his family in London. To come back to his family in England, he had to find an employer, who would vouch for him. This was done.

Bartels continued carving, producing work for stately homes and Durham Cathedral. In the Second World War, he worked on artificial limbs for the maimed. He died in 1955 and was buried in London.

Throughout the war, the Liver Birds stood proud over Liverpool, as much of the city was destroyed by enemy bombing. It was not a good time for telling people that the Liver Birds had been designed by a German.

And so things would have remained, had it not been for Bartels's great-grandson, Tim Olden, a graphic artist, from Southampton, and a number of local historians and artists. They have been supported by the Friends of Liverpool Monuments and Merseyside Civic Society in their desire to see Bartels honoured in some way before 2007. In this way, his relevance to the city would be made known to thousands of tourists.

"It is very important that recognition is given to the artist who created an image for the city known throughout the world," says Dr Peter Brown, chairman of Merseyside Civic Society.

The Royal Liver Building and the Port of Liverpool and the Cunard buildings form the Three Graces of the Mersey waterfront. It was originally home to the Royal Liver Friendly, now the Royal Liver Assurance.

Liz Romnes, head of the company's corporate communications, is considering the best place for a tribute to Bartels.

"A plaque to him is a great idea," says a Royal Liver spokeswoman. "We have got the main entrance to the building which all our tenants use and the public can come through. We also have our own company entrance which faces the river. It could go in either of those. But it would probably be better where everyone walks through, the

central corridor. There's a café in that area. But we need to sort it all out with our business management team. I don't see why it shouldn't be ready for 2007. It is not a big job."

Descendants of Bartels always knew about the Liver Birds, hoping that one day he would be recognised.

In 1998, his grand-daughter, Muriel Olden, with her son Tim and daughter, Pippa, visited Liverpool as guests of honour at a dinner in the Royal Liver Building. They met the Lord Mayor and appeared on radio and TV, suggesting that a permanent memorial should be erected in Liverpool to the memory of Carl Bernard Bartels.

But Mrs Olden died few months later, aged 77, and it seemed that their pleas had been forgotten.

Then articles about Bartels started appearing on the internet and earlier this year Patrick Neill, vice-chairman of the Friends of Liverpool Monuments, took up the case.

"I think my great-grandfather should be credited with the birds," says Tim Olden.. "Somehow, somewhere, it should be known. I recently came up to Liverpool and asked the taxi-drivers, who should have the knowledge, if they knew who designed the Liver Birds, but they didn't.

"Even the receptionist in the Royal Liver Building didn't know. Personally, I think it all goes back to the First World War. People didn't want to think that a German designed the famous Liver Birds. It was xenophobia, but I am delighted that a plaque is to be erected to his memory.

"I think that Bartels should be in the history books, there should be a plaque, the taxi-drivers should know who he was and the information should be passed on to the tourists."

But are the birds any good to the keen eyes of an artist?

"When you actually look at them closely, they are astonishingly crude pieces of work, but once you see them from street level, which is the only way you can see them properly, they are absolutely fabulous, they read like a dream. They are quite astonishing," says Robin Riley,, the eminent Liverpool sculptor and chairman of Merseyside Civic

Society's monuments and open spaces committee.

"When he designed them, Bartels would have realised that you cannot put a sculpture up at that height (295ft), you have to obey a set of laws of control and exaggeration."

"The idea that his name was quietly dropped because of the anti-German feeling during the First World War rings true with me," says Steve Binns MBE, Liverpool's community historian. "The anti-German feeling was very intense across the country."

But now we can honour the name of a German - father of two great birds who watch over their river for the sailors of all nations.

davidcharters@dailypost.co.uk

Liverpool legend that only exists because of artistic licence

WHEN King John granted Liverpool its Royal Charter in 1207, it was decided the port should have a corporate seal with the heraldic eagle which the king had adopted from St John the Evangelist.

Sadly, the the local artist produced a bird which more closely resembled a cormorant. As the years went by, everyone assumed that it was a cormorant, then common waders in the Mersey. Also, it was believed that seaweed or laver was hanging from its beak, not the sprig of broom carried by St John's eagle.

From this uncertain beginning, the Liver Bird developed and was extensively used as a symbol of the town which became a city in 1880. For example, in the 1852 the magnificent

Henry Pooley gates were hung outside the Sailors' home in Canning place, crowned by a Liver Bird.

But by far the most famous Liver Birds are the two on the Royal Liver Building. One faces the sea and the other looks inland. Each is 18ft tall and they have a wing span of 24ft. It is said that if they ever flew away, Liverpool would cease to be.
 
#9 ·
2005 sees the third Liverpool Food & Drink Festival which will run from 24th October

Cheers Jux......anyone feeling hungry?

http://www.visitliverpool.com/displayproduct.asp?productkey=18452

Liverpool Food & Drink Festival 2005

Dates for Liverpool Food & Drink Festival 2005
Start Date End Date
24/10/2005 31/10/2005

2005 sees the third Liverpool Food & Drink Festival which will run from 24th October - 31st October. The festival is fast becoming Liverpool's 'Foodie-event' of the year and a fantastic celebration of the food & drink industry across Merseyside.

The festival will incorporate Liverpool's 'Year of the Sea' theme and will encourage seafood events.

In previous years, events have included stars of the industry with Ken Hom, Paul Rankin, Mark Hix and Leigh Myers joining in with their own interactive events.

Familiar faces from television George Alagiah and Loyd Grossman have also visited Liverpool to champion our diverse food and drink culture.

The festival will commence on the 24th October with a launch evening and close on the 31st October with an exclusive Gala Dinner Awards Ceremony.

Regular updates can be found by visiting www.liverpoolfoodanddrink.com and signing up to the free e-newsletter
 
#10 ·
Liverpool is the Guinness Book of World Record's "Pop Capital of the World"

http://www.merseyside.org/displaypage.asp?page=40

Merseyside Facts

TOP TEN TOURISM FACTS

Liverpool has been designated European Capital of Culture 2008 and is Britain's winning nomination for UNESCO World Heritage site status.

There are more museums, theatres and galleries than any other City Region outside London - including Tate Liverpool, The Walker, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool Empire and the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Liverpool has more Grade II-listed buildings than any other city in the UK outside London and more Georgian buildings than Bath.

Merseyside is the Golfing Capital of England. There are over 40 courses, 7 of which are leading championship venues, with Royal Liverpool playing host to the Open Championship 2006, Royal Birkdale in 2008 and Formby Golf Club the Curtis Cup 2004.

Liverpool has a sporting edge, with Liverpool and Everton Football Club's and Aintree Racecourse, home of the world's greatest steeplechase, the Grand National.

Merseyside has some of the finest modern architecture in Europe including St George's Hall, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Anglican Cathedral, the Pier Head's "Three Graces" and The Walker.

Merseyside has 120km of picturesque coastline, 107km of which is internationally important for nature conservation, stretching from Southport to Wirral.

Liverpool is the Birthplace of The Beatles. Here you can visit Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, The Cavern and the homes of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney.

Liverpool is the Guinness Book of World Record's "Pop Capital of the World" with unrivalled nightlife from the Hope Street Quarter to the Waterfront, from Chinatown to the Cavern Quarter.

Liverpool is the most filmed-in city outside London, with films such as A Letter to Brezhnev, the 51st State, The Hunt for Red October, In the Name of the Father and Hilary and Jackie being shot here.
 
#11 ·
'Changing Eight' is a collection of eight contrasting artists .....

http://www.liverpool08.com/Events/EventDetails/ChangingEight2005.asp#0

Changing Eight 2005

'Changing Eight' is a collection of eight contrasting artists, the line-up of whom will change every year. The artists for 2005 are Anna Benson, Frank Moore, Tim Ellis, Nick Sykes, Steve Strode, Susan Massey, Craig Atkinson and Richard Meaghan.

It is the Cornerstone's first step in planning for Capital of Culture 2008 and after. Each year eight artists will be invited to exhibit, some established some newly emerging, creating a fresh and interesting and reflective balance of practicing artists today.

The exhibition starts on Friday 30 September and runs to Friday 28 October 2005. The gallery is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.

For directions of how to get to the gallery please visit www.hope.ac.uk/gettingtohope/hopeateverton. For further information please contact the gallery on 0151 291 3997, e-mail thecornerstonegallery@hope.ac.uk or visit www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonegallery.

Type: Cultural
Starts: 30/09/2005 10:00:00
Ends: 28/10/2005 16:00:00
Location: The Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool Hope University, Hope at Everton, 1 Haigh Street
Area: Liverpool
 
#12 ·
Liverpool's museums are changing .....

Liverpool's museums are changing

With the city's Capital of Culture year approaching, Liverpool's museums are about to get bigger and better than ever before. National Museums Liverpool is preparing some major development projects across all venues to ensure a world class offer for all visitors, during 2008 and beyond.

Here is a handy summary of the main plans for each museum. Keep an eye on this page for updates as each project progresses.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/about/capitalprojects/

You can also see breaking news, as well as archive press releases about major schemes past and present, in the newsroom.
 
#14 ·
Red outline ?

JUXTAPOL said:
In the picture below, taken from that website above, there is a red box outline, is this for a separate development...!


Good grief Jux, nothing get`s past you does it!

Didn`t notice it.

Anybodies guess at this stage I think, however it maybe that some other image has been removed from the picture?

National Museums do have control of the site and further projects - even if only temporary are I think under discussion for use during 2008 if not beyond.

One idea was a "Winter Garden" of some sort - others can i`m sure correct me.

:)
 
#16 ·
Accura_Preston said:
Maybe its just a dodgy covering of the Fourth Grace ;)
You may be right Accy as there is a bit above the POL building too....squints very hard at picie......

:cheers:
 
#17 · (Edited)
Mann Island Development

JUXTAPOL said:
In the picture below, taken from that website above, there is a red box outline, is this for a separate development...!


Well spotted, that red box suggest a location and height of one of the two buildings being developed jointly by Neptune and Countryside Properties on the part of the 4th Grace site which is owned by NWDA. Both companys are working on a project that will cost £110M and will see 2 blocks built around a new canal basin. The block shown in the above render is about 9 mikes high and the second block on the Strand side could be 12/16 mikes high.
 
#19 ·
Shanghai, Cologne, Tallinn, Dublin, Memphis .....

http://www.british-publishing.com/Pages/Liverpool2004/twin.html

"Our twin cities"

Liverpool has always had a global outlook, honed by historic trading links and –more recently – the ability of luring in the tourists.

Our world outreach is enhanced by our special bonds with cities like Shanghai, Cologne, Tallinn, Dublin – and now Memphis!

You don't have to be identical to be a twin – but you will almost certainly have characteristics in common. And this is very true of the latest link Liverpool has forged overseas, by twinning with Memphis, Tennessee. Like Liverpool, Memphis is a city dominated geographically by a river and spiritually by music.

For the Mersey, read the Mississippi. For the Beatles read the Blues, Beale Street and, of course, Elvis! It was an Elvis Presley anniversary which first prompted the powers that be to get all shook up over the idea of a transatlantic friendship. The connection between the two cities where rock reigns supreme comes in 2004 – also the 50th anniversary of Elvis's very first record – That's All Right – being cut at the legendary Sun Studio.

Memphis, which sits on a bluff overlooking the great Mississippi, received its charter from President Andrew Jackson in 1819 and, like Liverpool, began to flourish because of shipping and trade. Its major commodities were timber and cotton – the so-called 'white gold' which rode the rails to steamers bound for Liverpool!

It was cotton which was the making of Memphis, with rich merchants building huge mansions with their profits. And as the population boomed, Memphis became increasingly renowned for music-making, a reputation which was boosted in 1917, when the Secretary of State closed the blues district of New Orleans after a spate of serious violence and crime. Jazz musicians looked for other alternatives and finding a ready and receptive musical culture in Memphis, descended on Beale Street, already a magnet for the trumpet and sax culture which John Hiatt described as 'sweet as sin'.

Today Memphis, like Liverpool, is a fascinating fusion of old and new. The Pyramid, a 32-storey multi-purpose arena overlooking the Mississippi, is the major venue for sports and entertainments events. The huge river is home to the Memphis Queen line's five paddlewheel riverboats. While the home of W.C. Handy – whose famous Memphis Blues is a tribute to the city – is the centre of a revived Beale Street and Handy Park hosts festivals and jam sessions.

Kevin Kane, spokesman for the Memphis contingent which visited Liverpool, says the link between the two music-mad cities was entirely logical:

Memphis and Liverpool had more impact in the development of rock'n'roll than just about any other community in the world," he explains. Chris Brown, Director of Operations at the Mersey Partnership, says The two locations sit at the top of the global music charts and share a great musical heritage which will never be forgotten.

Councillor Warren Bradley, executive member for Culture adds:

We are looking to use the Memphis brand in some of our major musical events, such as the Summer Pops season, the Mathew Street Festival and our music-themed Capital of Culture events.

While council Leader Mike Storey says: We are delighted to be playing a leading role in this landmark anniversary. Liverpool is the Capital of Pop with the most Number One records in the known universe. It is really exciting that we will now be teaming up with the birthplace of rock'n'roll. Among plans which will capitalise on the Tennessee twinning is a proposal to send groups of schoolchildren across to Memphis to learn more about US culture.

Shanghai
The Chinese community which is the oldest Chinese quarter anywhere in Europe has always added a rich seam of exuberance and colour to Liverpool city centre. It was entirely fitting that China's largest city, whose name denotes its commanding position 'on the sea', should select Liverpool as its only UK twin.


And our Chinese fans were especially delighted when the news of the Capital of Culture win was announced. Dr Kegang Wu, Director of ChinaLink, said Those of us who work in ChinaLink feel a great sense of excitement. It is from the great city of Liverpool that we provide our China specialist service to our clients.

In our view the vibrant UK and China trade and involvement will benefit from a city on the rise and so will our services.

With the Chinese economy widely predicted to overtake that of the US and given that Shanghai is the 'engine' powering the financial life of China, the twinning, which was cemented in 1999, will clearly continue to be cherished by both cities. Dr Wu says The Shanghai/Liverpool arrangement reflects the prime global status of each city.

Shanghai's place in Liverpool life is confirmed symbolically by the spectacular arch – a gift from our Chinese cousins to commemorate the twinning – which is the doorway to Liverpool's Chinese quarter, at the end of Cornwallis Street. Streets studded with many authentic Chinese restaurants and a dazzling New Year parade which has become a fixture on Liverpool's calendar are just part of an Oriental legacy which, of course, includes a plethora of business and trade connections.

More than 6,000 Chinese people choose to have Liverpool as their home, many the descendants of the sailors and merchants who decided to settle here during Victorian times. And the official bond with Shanghai is a source of great pride within this community, even though the cultural roots of contemporary Liverpool Chinese families are enormously diverse.

Cologne
Liverpudlians now have a daily opportunity to visit the city with which we have the longest-established bond of brotherhood – historic Cologne.

Thanks to the new easyJet service from John Lennon Airport to Cologne/Bonn, there is now no excuse not to sample the cultural life of our German counterparts. The friendship between Liverpool and Germany's oldest city dates back to 1952 and has been characterised by many exchange visits and alliances over the decades.

And the new accessibility of Cologne is being viewed as a great boon which will enhance the affinity between the two centres.

Neil Pakey, managing director of the John Lennon airport says: "Everyone at the airport is pleased about the new air links to Germany. This was a key priority after the Capital of Culture success."

Ray Webster, easyJet chief executive, adds: "Cologne is a great city and the fact that it is Liverpool's twin is just the icing on the cake for us."

Cologne, a city of more than a million inhabitants, is well known for its attractions. As well as providing a range of historical and artistic attractions for visitors – the magnificent Cathedral,the Roman Dionysus mosaic, the Wallraf Richartz museum, the medieval Overstolzenhaus and the modern Opera House and media park, it has more than 3,000 pubs, breweries and restaurants – more than any other German city! And for anyone with the self-discipline to stay away sufficiently long from the Kolsch bier, also worth visiting are the Hohestrasse for street music and the Cathedral concourse – favoured by many talented pavement artists.

Tallinn
Estonia may not rank as an obvious choice as a country with which to build links.

But like Liverpool, Tallinn is a key port, trading centre and international gateway. And its awesome 3,500 year history means that it teems with interest and atmosphere.

Liverpool is connected to Tallinn in a twinning link developed as a result of similarities in the historic and economic profiles of the two cities. Over the last 10 years the medieval capital – recognised as a port and market place by Scandinavian and Russian merchants as early as the 10th century – has developed as a modern and open urban centre, with many tall glass and steel buildings.

These days it is known for a five-yearly song festival – one of Estonia's most feted events – for its museums, galleries and for the colourful market on Town Hall Square and for the popular cave-like pubs in the Old Town. Go to the traditional Russian restaurant, which – like Liverpool's – is called St. Petersburg! for an aristocratic vodka and caviar menu.

Dublin
Dublin hardly needs an introduction.

Eire’s premier city – an alluring blend of fine heritage and modern edge – was the first to twin with Liverpool on a formal basis.

But the civic rubber-stamping in 1997 only gave official weight to a friendship and a fondness which has made Dublin and Liverpool inseparable throughout their long interlinked histories. Liverpool is almost certainly the most Celtic of English cities, with many families claiming Irish descent or having immediate relatives still living in the Emerald Isle. Grounded in a history which is almost mythical, the connection across the Irish Sea is said to have sprung from St. Patrick himself, who is alleged to have embarked from the Mersey on his Christian mission to Ireland.

Today the Mersey and the Liffey are just one aspect our two cities have in common. But as well as the influence of their waterways on their development, Dublin and Liverpool share a creative spirit, an enthusiasm for poetry, art and music – and the kind of vivacity, wit and cultural fervour which makes them endearing to all-comers.

Both are well endowed with more than their fair share of architectural splendours and galleries and museums which celebrate their many historical landmarks. And another uniting factor is the student life fostered in both Dublin and Liverpool, with a multiplicity of universities and colleges and a strong student sub-culture which adds energy and cool to the night-life equation.

Tourism is vitally important to both cities. Of course, there has always been a healthy exchange of visitors between Dublin and Liverpool, helped by the good ferry and air links – and this strengthening of the connections remains undiminished.

For both Liverpool and Dublin, the picture and the prospects for the 21st century are positively rosy.
 
#20 ·
I visited the City of Culture shop when I was up there last week, and what a depressing affair that is! For a start, the premises are unsuitable, it's got an off-putting shop-front that is more suited to some kind of expensive jeweller. Then, inside, you just face rows of cheap over-priced CoC tat - pure rubbish with that crap logo on it. There are the ubiquitous flat screens, but they were switched off when I was in there. Probably just as well. But what is the point of it? They should have premises that are welcoming, and with people in it (there were two scowling receptionist types staffing a desk/till thing), and information about culture and what is planned! They should have computers where you can read the bid document and the plans for events. Total waste of money, and really off-putting. The irony is that one of the main reasons Liverpool won was that it promised a genuinely engaging programme that drew on and benefitted all the city.
 
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