We must mount a rescue – now

Aug 3 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

In the Council Chamber columnist Larry Neild reflects on a sad day for Liverpool

THERE are events in the life of this city that stun and shock, and send that sinking feeling through your body. The death of John Lennon was an example.

It led to tens of thousands of people, me included, congregating outside St George’s Hall for a vigil to a fallen son of the city. There were no highly-paid officials spending months organising the event. It was spontaneous.

The cancellation of the Mathew Street festival falls into that body-blow category. How bad can things become, you ask yourself?

It is our 800th birthday year, though you would hardly realise it, and this was meant to be a curtain raiser for the more important culture year in 2008.

These officials, earning more in a year than many will earn in a decade or more, come along and spoil the party.

There will be calls for sackings and resignations, and some heads may well roll. But that will not help the tens of thousands of people who have already booked hotels and tickets to come here.

So in the spirit that spread through the city when the IRA ruined the Grand National it is time for our citizens to stand up and be counted.

Today, when the council’s Executive Board meets there must be an action plan. The board should appoint an emergency committee, drafting in Judith Feather as head. She has successfully organised many events in the city over the years as a loyal servant of the city council.

Judith can assemble a team around her to deliver a festival in the city. We ring-fenced the heart of Liverpool on millennium eve to prevent cars coming in, and we can do it again. We can put stages in Dale Street, Victoria Street, Castle Street, Tithebarn Street and on the expansive NCP car park in Pall Mall. With the city centre a traffic-free zone there will be no safety issues.

Festivals are held all over the world, so we do not need rocket scientists to launch our rescue plan. We never needed the Pier Head. It fragmented the event in any case, we just need the inner core around Mathew Street.

The priority today, tomorrow and in the next few days must be to rescue the festival, and worry about inquests and inquisitions later on.

Roadworks only affect James Street, Whitechapel, the Strand and the Pier Head. But the rescued festival will not impact on those areas in any case.

The decision has hit the city like a bombshell, and the citizens will never forgive the political leadership and the executive officers if they do nothing.

It is not just about a festival, originally based on four lads who shook the world. It is about a group of leaders who must make things happen.