Department for Culture Media and Sport
capital of culture
Liverpool’s year as the 2008 European Capital of Culture was an outstanding success.
The Liverpool Culture Company has produced a report chronicling the highlights and the impact of the year which involved more than 10,000 artists, 160,000 participants and 67,000 schoolchildren across 7,000 events in more than 1,000 venues.
Some of the years headlines:
- Capital of Culture 2008 has generated an £800 million boost to the regional economy.
- The city has welcomed 3.5 million first time visitors in 2008-25% of all tourists-generating £176 million alone in tourism spend.
- Liverpool’s tourism sector has boomed with a record one million hotel beds sold in the city and average occupancy rates are at an all time high of 77% over the year.
- The Liverpool ’08 Events Programme attracted 5.2 million people to the city.
- The programme also helped generate 15 million visits to cultural venues and events since January 1, recording an average 30% rise on 2007-with cultural attractions across Merseyside reporting a similar increase.
- The surge in cultural tourism has seen a 150% increase to Liverpool’s Tourist Information Centres and the city has risen up the UK league table as the third favourite city to visit, according to a Condé Nast readers poll.
Highlights of the year included Paul McCartney headlining at Anfield Stadium, Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmoniker, La Machine’s Giant Spider walking the streets, the MTV European Music Awards at the new Echo Arena, and the Gustav Klimt Exhibition at Tate Liverpool.
Liverpool has conducted a longitudinal assessment of being European Capital of Culture. Based over five years this academic study looks at the economic, social, cultural and physical impacts of Liverpool ’08. A final report will be published in summer 2009 by the Impacts 08 research programme at University of Liverpool and John Moores University. The team will then publish a paper on Liverpool’s research, framework and management models for 2008 as a reference source for cities and major cultural programmes. Further information is available on the Impacts 08 programme website.
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