THE aim of Capital of Culture year was always to put Liverpool on the international map, and ease the passage of some prestige developments that might otherwise have some difficulty in coming to fruition.

But only the most pessimistic of crystal ball-gazers, back in 2003 when the Capital of Culture award was first announced, would have seen the recession that struck home towards the end of 2008.

Now we are in the thick of it, with maybe, just perhaps, a glimmering of light at the of the tunnel. And, just a little bit to our surprise, Liverpool has not come crashing down about our ears.

These are still sobering times, yet every day seems to brings some new evidence that Liverpool is doing a bit more than just surviving. Earlier this week came the news that overnight visitor numbers  were up by no less than 28% last year – a stark contrast to the frightening 26% downturn in overnight visitors to Blackpool.

That, of course, can be put down directly to the Culture effect. But so, too, can many of the relatively buoyant figures elsewhere in the Liverpool economy.

Capital of Culture, the eminent Professor Peter Stoney suggests, made it possible to get the Liverpool One project finished on time. Had that not been the case, the project may well have stalled, and Liverpool would not have had the shopping centre it so desperately needed to compete with other NW centres.

Cultural institutions like the Playhouse and Everyman theatres and the RLPO have managed to carry on a lot of the momentum they built up in 2008, enriching the lives of local residents and also making the city a far more attractive place for companies to do business. This needs to be shouted from the rooftops every time a company or institution is contemplating investing in Liverpool.

It’s all about the quality of life that the city and its surroundings can offer. And that quality, thanks to the efforts put into 2008, can benefit all of us.