KKP prepared the sports elements and supported other cultural and promotional aspects of Liverpool’s successful bid. It became European Capital of Culture in 2008 in recognition of its rich maritime history, creative culture and sporting and arts heritage.
This was widely acknowledged to be a recognition of the economic and cultural renaissance the city had undergone since the decline of many traditional industries upon which its economy was formerly dependent. Arguably, its most important success was the reaction of local people and across the world. The cultural title changed perceptions of the city which became a stage demonstrating the diversity of high art, sport, major outdoor free events and provocative new theatre. During 2008, the City hosted 7,000 events involving 10,000 artists and including 60 premieres.
In addition to the many other benefits, this added impetus to the development of the M&S Bank (Liverpool) Arena which has since hosted a number of major sports events including the Netball World Cup in 2019 and contributed to making the City one of Europe’s ‘must visit’ destinations.
In a directly linked assignment, we wrote the proposal that secured the 2008 European Boxing Championships (the final qualifiers for the Beijing Olympic Games that year) for the City. This was the event which saw Luke Campbell of England win the bantamweight gold and Oleksandr Usyk win the light heavyweight title.