The curtain had barely closed on Eurovision 2023 before the calls for an encore began to ring around our region.
The success of hosting the contest on behalf of our friends in Ukraine brought an estimated £40m economic boost in May alone. More importantly, though, it helped to all but seal our area’s title as the undisputed home of British music.
Ever since those surreal few months ended with Loreen once again crowned queen of Eurovision in a magnificent crescendo of not only of singing, but of solidarity and stardust too, our minds have been focussed not on back slapping, but on one simple question: what comes next?
After all, staging a global spectacle like Eurovision is an opportunity that doesn’t come round very often for the UK, especially with our limited success in securing douze points.
But our region has proven time and time again that, when called upon, we are more than capable of rising to a challenge – especially when it comes to proving our cultural prowess.
To put it simply, music wouldn’t be music without Liverpool and Liverpool wouldn’t be Liverpool without music – and we have a proven track record of doing the sector proud.
No region has produced more number one hits than ours. No one has utterly and irreparably transformed the world of music like four mop-topped boys from Liverpool. And no place throws itself, heart and soul, into a public project quite like Liverpool.
Eurovision was just the latest (and shiniest) chapter in a long and illustrious musical story. But it will not be the last.
Looking to the future, I want to work with our councils to build a lasting, tangible legacy from Eurovision that will enhance the Liverpool City Region status for years to come – and we might have spotted the perfect opportunity on the horizon.
Last week, the Leader of Liverpool City Council, Liam Robinson and I wrote to the Minister for Arts and Heritage, Lord Parkinson, regarding the bidding process for the relocation of the English National Opera (ENO).
Our region is lucky enough to have been shortlisted for the honour of hosting the ENO’s new headquarters and, naturally, we believe that we have set out the strongest, most sustainable case that would allow the company to flourish as it enters its next chapter.
This is enormous decision. It means far more than changing the address at the top of the letterhead or taking a faceless institution and plonking it in the city opening its cheque book the widest. Behind the ENO sits dozens upon dozens of highly-skilled, exceptionally talented people whose futures are being debated in front of the watching world.
This must be an extraordinarily difficult time for them and their loved ones. In such testing times, it’s never more important to have an understanding family around. If there is one thing I can guarantee, it is that, should we be chosen, everyone associated with the ENO would be welcomed with open arms as one of our own.
As a UNESCO World City of Music which is already home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, and with a musical heritage unmatched by anywhere in the UK, our city goes hand in glove with the aims of the ENO and its drive to take opera to the masses.
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
