Peter Jackson column

Aug 17 2006 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

We are supposed to hate saying, "we told you so", but there are times when it's hard.

Like now, for example, when Liverpool's plans for its year as European Capital of Culture in 2008 are in such disarray. When it beat Newcastle to the title three years ago, many of us thought the judges' decision perverse and that it would encourage Liverpool's long love affair with itself but achieve little else.

Now the artistic director Robyn Archer has resigned, amid talk of scrapping some of her planned events and with allegations from leading local figures that the whole business is being mismanaged.

A pilot project, Super Vision, from New York, was staged in May at a cost of £250,000 but only 600 people turned up, many with free tickets.

Also plans for the Cloud building, which figured largely in Liverpool's bid, have been abandoned, with funders baulking at the £324m price tag.

In an attempt to salvage something, there is talk of a football match, featuring such stars as Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. Sir Paul McCartney has also been asked to perform, although his mind is probably on other things at the moment.

A reason for calling upon the undoubted talents of Sir Paul and sundry footballers is that much of the criticism of Liverpool's plans is that they are too elitist, that acts booked are too highbrow and have little resonance on Merseyside.

This is interesting and not a little ironic in the light of something I heard a few months after Newcastle lost out to Liverpool in the bid.

I was told, by a senior local politician, that the judges felt Newcastle's bid, while impressive, and supported by the Great and the Good, had not really captured the imagination of the population at large.

Liverpool's bid, on the other hand, the judges felt, enjoyed considerable support among the common folk. Scousers, they clearly believed, were thirsting for culture. Little did they suspect that it was only culture of the kind supplied by Sir Paul McCartney and Wayne Rooney. There is an important lesson here. Any campaign to present a city or region in a positive light must first capture the hearts and minds of the people living there - and not just appear to do so.