From major European cities to small US ports, coastal communities around the world are attempting to curb the number (and size) of massive cruise ships looming over their shores.
21.07.2023 - 08:37 / roughguides.com / River Mersey
Inspired by Newcastle's Great Exhibition of the North, we take you to another great city in the North of England – Liverpool.
When Liverpool was crowned European Capital of Culture in 2008, those who lost out may have consoled themselves with the notion that the city had won because it 'needed it'. That might have been true in terms of the economic place that Liverpool occupied at the time (not a good one) and the opportunities for regeneration and rebirth that would be realised down the line.
Liverpool, however, has been culturally rich since the River Dee silted up and maritime matters moved to the Mersey. And the city continues to be so. Liverpool is one of the best cheap city breaks in the UK. Angie Sammons leads you through the cultural hubs of Liverpool where the locals meet to share big ideas, tell stories and socialise.
For culture to flourish, a cross-fertilisation of ideas, vision and passion has to exist. And that works best when minds connect with minds from different worlds. Liverpool's unique geographic position led to its rise as the second city of the British Empire, the gateway to the New World with millions of immigrants and emigrants beginning new lives on the Mersey tide.
All of this has been crucial to Liverpool's cultural destiny. It could be argued that The Beatles themselves might have remained in the Cavern had their manager Brian Epstein not possessed the London swagger, gained from his time at RADA, to secure their Parlophone record deal.
Ah yes, The Beatles, the love of whom brought scores of young idealists to the city in the early 1970s, many gravitating to Liverpool Art college. Mingling with the locals, a great second wave of music was created based around the live venue Eric's, spawning Deaf School, Zoo Records, Echo and The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes.
And in 2008, it was a newspaper article about Capital of Culture which brought some curious young Oxford and Cambridge graduates to the city to form the groundbreaking Kazimier Collective. Now lost to regeneration.
Romantic, poetic, loud, confident, opinionated, funny, stylish and sharp. These are the characteristics that make for a cultural powerhouse. And Liverpool has them in ever-evolving spadefuls.
Liverpool Waterfront on the River Mersey © Jeanette Teare / Shutterstock
The Florence Institute started life in 1889 as 'an acceptable place of recreation and instruction for the poor and working boys of this district of the city'. The institute was built by Victorian philanthropist Bernard Hall and named in memory of his daughter.
It became a sporting and music hub – alumni include a young John Conteh and Gerry Marsden – before closing in the late 1980s and falling into a state of disrepair. Restored and reopened in 2012,
From major European cities to small US ports, coastal communities around the world are attempting to curb the number (and size) of massive cruise ships looming over their shores.
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