Liverpool will be the Consummate European city

North West Euro MP David Sumberg says Liverpool has all the assets to astound tourists from mainland Europe as European Capital of Culture.

Mr Sumberg said this year’s Capital of Culture Gratz, in Austria, had been firmly put on the European map with the title and Liverpool - and the North West - can expect the same if not better.

“This is magnificent news for Liverpool and the region,' he said. "Liverpool will be flooded with Europeans curious and excited to discover what it has to offer. Liverpool is well known in Europe already but is not necessarily seen as a place to visit. The Capital of Culture title will change that dramatically as Gratz has found this year and Bruges and Salamanca found in 2002. What is exciting is that Liverpool is now operating in the corridors of the European elite. But, critically, it is suited to operate in such circles. It has the cultural and historical gravitas. It can impress the movers and shakers of Europe with its architecture, its maritime history, its art galleries and its beautiful setting. And more than anything else Liverpool people have the charisma and charm to give tourists and European business leaders a warm and unique welcome. No city in Europe has a bigger heart than Liverpool. I wish Liverpool well, congratulate the bid team and sincerely hope that money, jobs and commerce will come pouring into the city helping both Merseyside and the North West.”

NOTE: The first Cultural Capital of Europe was Athens in 1985. Its successors were Florence (1986), Amsterdam (1987), Berlin (1988), Paris (1989), Glasgow (1990), Dublin (1991), Madrid (1992), Antwerp (1993), Lisbon (1994), Luxemburg (1995), Copenhagen (1996), Thessaloniki (1997), Stockholm (1998), Weimar (1999), Avignon, Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Cracow, Helsinki, Prague, Reykjavik, Santiago de Compostela (2000), Rotterdam, Porto (2001), Bruges, and Salamanca (2002).
In the years to come, Cultural Capitals will be Genoa and Lille (2004), Cork (2005), a city in Greece (2006), in Luxemburg (2007), Liverpool (2008),