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One
Magnificent City lives up to its name
LIVERPOOL'S 7 week programme
celebrating its relationship with Cunard, links with the USA and its cultural
gems attracted an estimated 1.6 million visitors.
One Magnificent City (OMC) has been hailed a huge success with a packed
programme which ran from Friday, 15 May 2015, until Sunday, 5 July 2015.
Many cultural venues, attractions and businesses saw a massive increase in the
number of visitors as a direct result of events held as part of the programme;
with increases of up to 180% during the Three Queens weekend, and over
300,000 people visiting Liverpool ONE.
Highlights included:-
► National Museums Liverpool: For the Three Queens weekend, Merseyside Maritime
Museum (MMM) received 24,245 visitors, an increase of 142 per cent on the same
two days in 2014. The Museum of Liverpool (MOL) received 19,565 an increase of
180% on the previous year. Increases were seen at both venues during the
International Mersey River Festival; MMM 11,323 (up 35% on 2014), MOL 12,679
(up 29% on 2014); and at MOL during the T175 welcomed 13,373 visitors, an
increase of 45% on 2014.
► Albert Dock Liverpool: A huge boost in business was experienced during the OMC
programme, and during the T175 weekend alone footfall exceeded 75,000.
► Three Cunard Queens: Officially named as one of Merseyside's most successful
free events, Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral attracted a massive 1.2million people
from Saturday 23 until Tuesday, 26 May 2015. With Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and
Queen Victoria meeting on the River Mersey for the first time and three nights
of the stunning projection show, Amazing Graces, taking place on the Pier Head,
it boosted the local economy by nearly £33million and the media coverage it
received was worth £30million.
► LightNight: With the theme Looking to the New World, this was the first OMC
event and saw 137 free events take place on the night of Friday 15 May. It
attracted more than 65,000 visitors; the highest in LightNight's history – who
flocked to 56 cultural venues and spaces in the city.
► Timeliners: Located in the Cunard Building as part of LightNight, Timeliners
brought to life the stories of Cunard workers from medical officers to the heavy
gang, through a brand new installation by Make Space Create. An audience of
2,537 came to see the memories and forgotten images of those who worked on the
world famous liners throughout the one night it was on display.
► Look/15 Women In The City: Look/15 ran a photographic competition which would
be a celebration of Liverpool's female population. More than 160 entries were
received, with judges being bowled over with how the brief was interpreted. Work
was exhibited at venues including The Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool ONE and The
Bluecoat, attracting an impressive 475,000 visitors, some of whom were
international visitors hailing from St Petersburg, Paris and New York. These
figures mean LOOK/15's audience has grown by 46 per cent from 2013.
► The Crossing, Liverpool ONE: A world first in an outdoor shopping destination,
surrounding visitors to the City with the sounds synonymous with the special
relationship between Liverpool and New York. It used unique 3D sound techniques
developed by Heaven 17's Martyn Ware and his company Illustrious to create an
audio journey across the music, fashion and culture Liverpool shares with New
York
► Cunard Connections Walking Tours - The stories of Cunarders were brought alive
with 6 special 1.5 hour tours around the waterfront. Demand for the 25 spaces
per tour was high, and all were booked up within days of going on sale, which
meant 150 visitors benefitted from tour guide's Deborah Mulhearn's knowledge.
► International Mersey River Festival - Taking place from Friday 5 June to Sunday, 7
June 2015, the waterfront welcomed 220,000 visitors who enjoyed a weekend of boats,
live music, street entertainment, air displays and a raft race. Kicking off in
conjunction with BBC Music Day on the 5 June, homecoming performances from DJ
Craig Charles and Rebecca Ferguson were a highlight for many. The City also
played host to the first ever Northern Boat Show which was enjoyed by visitors
and exhibitors alike. Boat sales were made and organisers are already planning
their return in 2016 when the festival takes place on 3 June to 5 June 2016.
► Rock n Roll Marathon - A riot of music and culture took over the City on 14
June and
15 June, with 12,000 runners enjoying the 2 day festival.
► Subterranean Theatre - The Mauri - Written by Writing on the Wall's Mike
Morris, the play was based on a 1920's short story by rediscovered Liverpool
seafarer and writer George Garrett. It celebrates the mighty 'scouse boat' The
Mauretania, and the lives of those who worked below decks. The 11 night run
which took place in the atmospheric Cunard building was a sell out and in total,
600 people saw the production.
► An evening with Walter Mosley - The acclaimed American author entertained 115
people at a unique Town Hall event during which the novelist read extracts from
his books and answered questions from the audience.
► Tate Liverpool - Although figures for the Jackson Pollock exhibition won't be
released until after it finished on the 18 October, Tate Liverpool reported a
40% increase in visits to the gallery on Saturday, 4 July and Sunday, 5 July
2015.
► Transatlantic 175 weekend (T175) - An independent economic impact report due
out in a couple of months will reveal the full effects of the weekend, but
without a doubt it was a hugely successful couple of days. Liverpool created a
new Guinness World Record; 3651 for the most people modelling on a catwalk,
smashing the record by 568 people and celebrating with a huge disco on the dock.
It also hosted its first ever classic car cavalcade along with a vintage and
food festival. The weekend was curated by designer Wayne Hemingway and at this
stage is believed to have attracted 250,000 people to the waterfront across the
two days.
► Gianni Russo events - The Godfather actor took part in a Q&A session at
Liverpool ONE's Odeon Cinema on Saturday, 4 July 2015 prior to a screening of the
Oscar winning film to an audience of 150 people. The following night, his sold
out show One Night Only, entertained an intimate audience of 120 with many
Sinatra songs and stories.
Some of the events already formed part of the
City's cultural calendar, the rest were new commissions funded through the
Mayor's Fund. Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:-
"The achievements of the last seven weeks are astounding. Not only have we
had a series of major events pulling in huge crowds, but interspersed with these
have been unique cultural commissions giving some of our arts organisations the
opportunity to be part of this special programme. A full analysis of the 7
weeks will take some time to compile, but we already know that we've attracted
more than 1.6 million visitors alone during this short period of time and the
economic benefit is in its 10s of millions. I'm proud to be Mayor of a City that
values its cultural offering and understands the boost it can give, not only in
monetary terms, but in the pride that it engenders in the people who live in
Liverpool. When it comes to events the ambitions of this City are unrivalled –
with a programme of challenging and mostly free activities, Liverpool has
without a doubt raised the bar. And it's important to remember that our events
season isn't over yet - Liverpool International Music Festival returns in August
and the always popular fireworks displays will take place in November."
To look back at One Magnificent City visit:-
OneMagnificentCity.Co.UK or follow @OMCLpool on Twitter
and One Magnificent City Liverpool on Facebook.
Chris Bliss, Estate Director at Liverpool ONE:- "One Magnificent City was
a 7 week wonderful City wide celebration. Liverpool ONE enjoyed footfall growth
of over 7% during the May half term week, thanks in large part to the arrival of
the Three Cunard Queens. Over the May bank holiday weekend, a over 300,000
people visited Liverpool ONE and the centre of the City was vibrant and
exciting. The Crossing, a pioneering soundscape based on South John Street is
estimated to have entertained around a million visitors over the 7 weeks it
ran. The first of its kind in an outdoor shopping destination, The Crossing took
Liverpool ONE visitors on a journey through sound from Liverpool to New York
spanning the 175 year history of transatlantic travel. One Magnificent City was
an incredible testament to the city, and we are proud to have contributed to
such a historic event for Liverpool."
Charlotte Corrie, Director of Open Culture:- "It was wonderful for
LightNight to kick start the entire One Magnificent City programme. In the run
up to the 15 May there was a real buzz about the City; people were planning
what they were going to see during LightNight, but also looking ahead to the
other events coming up, and there was the real feeling of people embracing all
these amazing cultural opportunities on offer. LightNight this year had over
65,000 visits which was fantastic and they are our best visitor figures in LightNight's
6 year history."
Deborah Mulhearn, Liverpool Literary Walks, "It was wonderful to be part
of One Magnificent City. I loved meeting all the people who came on the Cunard
Connections walking tours. Many of them shared their own Cunard connections, and
their stories gave the walks an extra dimension. I had done a lot of research,
but the memories and anecdotes people shared were fascinating and often very
moving, and a reminder that we are still connected to people and events that
happened many years ago."
Madeline Heneghan, Co-Director, Writing on the Wall:-
"Being able to showcase the
work of Writing on the Wall during the OMC City celebrations was a real bonus
for WoW. We've championed the links between Liverpool and New York for many
years and appreciated the opportunity to bring our festival to a wider audience.
Well done to the Culture Liverpool Team; it's been a really special couple of
months."
Mike Morris, Writer and Producer, The Maurie:- "I felt it was hugely symbolic
to be able to feature, alongside the magnificence of the great liners, my new
play, 'The Maurie', celebrating the lives of those who worked below decks in the
engine rooms; the Stokers. The life of George Garrett, who wrote the original
short story from which the play was adapted, can tell us so much about
Liverpool's development. It was a real pleasure to work with Culture Liverpool
to bring the story to life in the unique surroundings of the Cunard Building."
Emma Smith, Executive Director Look/15:- "LOOK are proud partners of
Liverpool City Council and have enjoyed being a part of the One Magnificent City celebrations. Their support of our cultural programme helps us to reach
audiences, develop new work and share it with the people of the City and beyond.
This year's Women in the City competition has been a great success, with entries
submitted from Russia, America and Africa as well as those from closer to home.
People's interpretation of our brief; to positively portray females; generated
some incredible art, exposed some historic images, revealed amazing personal
stories and collectively provided an interesting centre for LOOK/15, which this
year received in excess of 475,000 visitors. We would like to say thank you to
Liverpool, to the City Council and to the Three Queens for truly revealing that
this is, without doubt, One Magnificent City."
Gav Cross, Make Space Create:- "Timeliners has been an epic and delightful
project to be part of. It has been a real privilege to be part of this
incredible event and to be a Culture Liverpool Mayoral Commission. One of the
greatest pleasures was seeing people come to Timeliners, not rush and take in
the stories. It was overwhelming and moving that it engaged people in such a
way."
Andrea Nixon, Executive Director, Tate Liverpool:- "Celebrating the finale
weekend of Liverpool's One Magnificent City we were delighted to see so many
visitors in the gallery. From the jazz performances in the café to the newly
opened Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots exhibition we were thrilled to be part of
the exciting programme. During the final weekend of One Magnificent City we saw
an increase of 40% in general visits to the gallery in comparison to the same
weekend in 2014. These fantastic figures along with the uplift in figures we saw
during the Three Queens weekend are testament to the huge success that
collaboration brings."
Lucy Cattell, National Museums Liverpool Communications Manager:- "It's
clear that One Magnificent City has had a real impact on visitors to our
waterfront venues. The Museum of Liverpool and Merseyside Maritime Museum have
both seen an increase in visitors for the key weekends during the programme of
events, which have drawn people to the waterfront to see the Three Cunard Queens
and other activities. If people visit the City for one thing, they tend to make
the most of their time by exploring other attractions as well, so it's a great
opportunity to get involved and highlight our museums and galleries as part of
everything that Liverpool has to offer."
Peter Cronin, director of development and marketing for Albert Dock Liverpool,
said:- "The One Magnificent City celebration has been seven unforgettable
weeks that will be etched in the City's history forever. Albert Dock has been at
the heart of much of the activity; from the Three Queens in May to the River
Festival in June, and Vintage on the Dock last week; and business has been
booming at our attractions, bars and restaurants. Visitor numbers at Albert Dock
for the Vintage on the Dock weekend alone exceeded 75,000, which is just
phenomenal. We endeavour to continue to work closely with our partners across
the waterfront and wider City region as creating world class events like One
Magnificent City only comes about from the City working together as one." |
