Major Events
Major events help promote the Northwest as a forerunner in
specific tourism sectors, such as culture and sport, as well as
making an important contribution to the economic development of the
region. Over the year to March 2008, the NWDA supported 28 major
events, which resulted in 1.75 million visitors and a £40 million
contribution to the regional economy.
Major events contribute to the development of the image, economy
and tourism potential of the Northwest as well as instilling pride
it its residents. The region has an excellent track record of
regularly hosting highly successful major events, such as the Grand
National and the Liverpool Biennial, as well as events such as the
Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008.
Strategy for Major Events
The Strategy for Major Events in England's Northwest was
developed in 2004 as a result of the region recognising the impact
from the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 and Liverpool's bid
to be European Capital of Culture in 2008. Since 2004, major events
that the NWDA has been associated with has generated about £150
million for the regional economy."
Arts & Culture
One of the Northwest’s most recent successes was Liverpool
European Capital of Culture 2008. As an official sponsor, the NWDA
invested £2 million to support the Liverpool Culture Company in
delivering the cultural programme. Highlights of the year included:
the Liverpool Sound Concert at Anfield with Sir Paul McCartney; the
Tall Ships Festival; and La Machine’s spider street theatre
performance through the city centre. Merseyside’s tourism economy
reached the £1 billion mark, with the total economic benefit
amounting to £800 million.
But the Northwest is not resting on its laurels. Carlisle
is in the running for the brand new UK City of Culture title in
2013. The city has been shortlisted along with 13 others for this
accolade, which aims to emulate the success of Liverpool 08. The
NWDA fully supports Carlisle’s bid; Liverpool 08 proved that
culture can be a great driver for change and City of Culture status
would deliver a welcome economic boost for Carlisle.
Building on the success of the first international festival two
years ago, the Manchester International Festival 2009 saw 21
premieres taking place during July, including theatrical
performances, art installations, intellectual debates and music
collaborations. Highlights include a 1960s office block being
turned into a multimedia haunted house and a 21st century
reinvention of the traditional street procession involving members
of the public.
Lakes Alive 09, a series of outdoor events combining street art
and performance skills, began in March and took place throughout
the spring and summer. The event is launched with a week-long free
festival and highlights of the programme include three days’ of
street theatre with Kendal’s Mintfest and an open-air ball in the
ruins of Egremont Castle.
The NWDA is also supporting Blackpool 365 - part of Blackpool
Revival, one of our Signature Projects - which is a three-year
programme including events such as the UDO World Street Dance
Championships and the Showzam Festival.
Next year, Liverpool Biennial 2010 is taking place. The theme of
the city’s sixth festival of contemporary visual art has not yet
been decided, but it will be expected to surpass that of 2008,
where MADE UP explored the ecology of the artistic imagination and
the ambiguous territory between the real and unreal. The 40
projects, which included 32 new commissions, were exhibited in a
number of venues including the Bluecoat, Open Eye and Tate
Liverpool.
- Watch a video about Liverpool European Capital of Culture on
NWDA TV
- Watch a video about the Manchester International Festival 2007
on NWDA TV
Sport
The Northwest is home to eight Premiership football teams
(Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester City, Wigan,
Bolton, Blackburn and Burnley) and a number of world-class sporting
facilities, including five racecourses, and the Manchester
Velodrome and the Manchester Aquatics Centre - which were both
built for the Commonwealth Games 2002.
Manchester has been crowned the Best Sports City 2008 for its
successful hosting
of six international sports events during the year, including three
world championships. The Sports City Gold Award was presented to
Manchester City Council at the SportBusiness Sports Event
Management Awards 2008.
The events hosted by the city included the FINA World Swimming
Championships - Manchester’s biggest sporting event since the
Commonwealth Games 2002, the World Squash Championships and the BT
Paralympic World Cup, which was supported by the NWDA.
This year’s sporting events include: Ironman UK in Bolton;
Thundersprint motorcycling in Northwich; British Masters
Showjumping in Chester; and the European Tour Beach Volleyball in
Blackpool. Manchester is hosting a number of sporting events this
year, including the BT Paralympic World Cup, the World Netball
Series and the UCI Track Cycling World Cup.
London 2012
Since "Be Inspired" - the Northwest Legacy Framework for the
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - was launched in May
2007, real progress has been made in helping to ensure the
Northwest plays a full part in, and benefits from, the
opportunities presented by London 2012.
The Northwest Steering Group, which brings together key
representatives from across the region, has identified six legacy
themes where there are opportunities for the Northwest to
benefit:
- Sport & Physical Activity
- Business
- Cultural Olympiad
- Tourism
- Major Events
- Skills & Volunteering
The NWDA is the strategic lead for three of these themes -
Business, Tourism and Major Events - as well as leading on
attracting teams for Pre Games Training Camps.
The region’s success so far is evident, with almost 4,500
Northwest companies having registered on CompeteFor, the business
"dating agency" which matches companies to thousands of
opportunities supplying London 2012 contractors. Over 90 Northwest
companies have won Games-related contracts to date.
To ensure Northwest companies are equipped with the skills and
capabilities to bid and win contracts from London 2012, the NWDA
and Business Link Northwest are providing a regional programme of
events, giving further support to companies on areas such as
opportunities to supply services, how to tender, and
sustainability.
Teams from 17 countries are already committed to train in the
Northwest ahead of the Games including Thailand, the 15 Pacific
Island countries of Oceania and Swimming Australia, one of the
world’s biggest and most high-profile swimming teams. An outline
economic impact assessment for the Swimming Australia deal
estimates that the financial benefit to the regional economy will
total at least £1 million.
March 2009 saw the launch of "WE PLAY"; the Northwest cultural
legacy programme for London 2012. The £10 million project is
part-funded by the Legacy Trust-funded project and led by Arts
Council England: Northwest, on behalf of regional partners.
Over 480 schools across the region have registered to be part of
"Get Set", the official London 2012 Education Programme for
schools, colleges and other education providers.
The NWDA is supporting the Government’s London 2012 tourism
strategy,
Winning: A Tourism Strategy for 2012 and
Beyond. The aim of the strategy is to maximise the
potential £2.1 billion benefit of London 2012 for the UK tourism
industry.
In July 2009, the NWDA hosted the third Annual 2012 Conference,
which was an opportunity to celebrate the region’s achievements in
securing Games-related business contracts, attracting world-class
teams for Pre Games Training Camps, encouraging people to take part
in Cultural Olympiad events and activities, and getting Northwest
schools involved in the excitement of London 2012.