LIVERPOOL has gained a new image since winning Capital of Culture status – but the city has to be realistic about its expectations for the future.

This was lead researcher Dr Beatriz Garcia’s note of caution in Impacts 08 – the Liverpool Model, the report commissioned by Liverpool City Council to look at the long-term effects of 08.

Her findings paint a positive note of the changes in the perceptions of the city during the last few years.

But she warned against expectations running ahead of reality.

The report is the culmination of a five-year study by academics at both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University.

It will be presented to an international conference in Liverpool today.

Dr Garcia, from Liverpool University, said: “The city has undergone a remarkable image renaissance locally.

“We found that the general opinion of Liverpool was informed by very dated images of the city, ranging from positive but fixed associations with The Beatles in the 1960s, to more negative views of social deprivation in the 1980s.

“2008 has created a new picture of Liverpool as a modern city with a vibrant cultural life that reached far beyond football and music.”

The report says combined local and national media coverage of Liverpool’s cultural offering more than doubled since the Capital of Culture award was announced in 2003.

By 2008, positive stories on the city’s cultural assets dominated over the traditional, negative emphasis on social issues.

The slight downside, though, has been a warning that expectations have been raised so high that the city may not be able to live up to them.

By the end of Capital of Culture, 85% of Liverpool residents agreed that the city was a better place to live than before Capital of Culture, and 99% of visitors liked the atmosphere and welcoming feel of the city – well above the response in other popular UK tourist destinations.

Dr Garcia said: “The levels of enthusiasm generated by the bid led to unrealistic expectations and a feeling of uncertainty in the years preceding 2008.

“This resulted in the expectation, by some residents and stakeholders, that Capital of Culture would single-handedly redress long- term inequalities between Liverpool and other UK cities, from unemployment to low income and poor health.