City in running for MTV Awards

Dec 13 2006 by Sam Lister, Liverpool Daily Post

THE most glamorous and successful names in pop and rock are set to descend on the city for the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Liverpool is bidding to host the ceremony during Capital of Culture year and is at a crucial stage of negotiations.

It has made it on to the shortlist and is now vying with other major European cities for the November, 2008, event.

Securing the deal would give the city global exposure with more than 14m viewers expected to tune in.

An economic study by independent consultants reported £8.9m worth of direct economic benefit for Scotland when Edinburgh hosted the awards three years ago. Hotel bookings alone were valued at £2.2m.

Last night, leading figures in the city’s music industry said it would be a major coup for the city.

Singer Thomas Lang, who runs the 3345 bar, said: “This would be fantastic for Liverpool.

“It would be recognition of the city’s musical past and its future. And it would show that there is more to us than just The Beatles.”

Oxygen Music’s Pete Byrne, managing director of Parr Street studios, said: “This will be a fantastic chance for the biggest names in music to find out what Liverpool has to offer.

“Music is at the heart of our city and the number of singers and bands to come out of it shows that, so there would be no better place for MTV to hold its awards.”

The awards were started in 1994 by MTV Europe as an alternative to the channel’s American awards.