Culture in Crisis?: Chamber chairman’s Culture confidence

Aug 17 2007 by Jessica Shaughnessy, Liverpool Daily Post

crisis in culture

OPINION about whether the Liverpool Culture Company can be trusted to deliver their promises in 2008 is divided across the city.

But one person who has complete faith in the people who are organising the celebrations is the chairman of the city’s Chamber of Commerce, David Wade- Smith.

Mr Wade-Smith insists the Culture Company has exceeded its brief and says Capital of Culture was never an end in itself.

He was one of the driving forces behind Liverpool Vision, which first began to devise the plan for Liverpool’s rebirth more than 10 years ago.

He said: “The foundations of Capital of Culture started off as something quite different to what is perceived now and since then the city has gone through an unbelievably rapid level of change.

“People think that on January 1, 2008, we will wake up to this completely transformed city. But it was only ever supposed to be the halfway mark of the city’s full renaissance.

“Liverpool Vision had a 15 -year plan for the complete overhaul of the city and the birthday year was always intended to be the halfway milestone.

“It was only when Liverpool Vision brought in a consultant to look at that plan and help develop it that Capital of Culture materialised. And the rest is history.

“It was never supposed to be the be all and end all for change in Liverpool, just a catalyst and a means to accelerate the plans.

“It was giving us all something to aim for, but these motives have been forgotten and buried in the past.

“I have no doubt that the Culture Company will make a success of next year’s programme. We are already ahead of the Glasgow model with the events that have been announced and there is so much more that is yet to be revealed.”

Mr Wade-Smith added: “In the last two weeks, there has been all this fuss about what has happened with the Mathew Street Festival and the plans for next year.

“But there are a few of us who have been around since the beginning. We remember exactly where we started out from and know just how far Liverpool has come.’’