Wirral hands Borough of Culture crown to Sefton

Fantastic year for Wirral

Wirral is handing over the title of Borough of Culture to Sefton this week - after wowing 400,000 people during a year of mesmerising moments.

Dazzling explosions of light, sound and colour kicked off the programme in the spring, with 10,000 people packing Hamilton Square for a projection show telling the story of Birkenhead.

The borough has been on a non-stop cultural journey ever since, from local stories and legends through to the wonders of the universe.

Highlights have included outdoor spectacle The Witching Hour at Birkenhead Park, Wirral Food and Drink Festival and concerts from The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The Christians and China Crisis.

Thousands also enjoyed the first Wirral stage for the OVO Energy Tour of Britain, the River of Light extravaganza and Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon, at Birkenhead Town Hall.

Assistant director for culture & visitor economy at Wirral Council, Lucy Barrow, said there had been an “overwhelmingly positive” re-sponse to the events.

She told the ECHO: “It’s been a fantastic year and it’s only been possible because we had such brilliant partners and support from volunteers throughout.

“It enabled us to do something very special in Wirral and showcase what makes it such an amazing place.

“The Witching Hour was a spectacular performance. I’ve never seen anything like it before and I know many people said similar, and my personal highlight would have to be the Philharmonic performance in Birkenhead Park.

“It’s been a great year for us and I know it will be a great year for Sefton.”

Although final figures are still being calculated, Wirral is thought to have benefited from a “signif-icant” economic boost as visitors flocked in – with over 270 volunteers on hand to welcome them.

The themes for this year’s events were discovery, exploration and the great outdoors, and included events in unexpected locations like New Brighton Dips and West Kirby Marine Lake.

Wirral’s Borough of Culture year built on 2018’s Imagine Wirral – which included events like the Tall Ships Three Festivals Regatta, New Brighton Revisited, Lost Castles and the Giant Spectacular.

And the council says Borough of Culture will be a springboard for more exciting events in years to come - with the return of the Open already pencilled in for 2022.

The Borough of Culture initiat-ive was introduced by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and is designed to encourage cultural activities across the region.

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “The Liverpool City Region is the culture capital of the UK and I want it to continue to flourish.

“From arts, music and food and drinks festivals in Birkenhead Park, to the spectacular Constel-lations installation in West Kirby and the River of Light Fireworks display, Wirral developed a programme of once-in-a-lifetime events that showcased the very best of the borough.

“I congratulate Wirral Council for creating a Borough of Culture year that brought people together and look forward to seeing what Sefton has planned in 2020.”