Ringo Starr Returns to Liverpool
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) -January 11, 2008 Starr will join Eurythmics frontman Dave Stewart in headlining a
huge outdoor concert, featuring around 600 local musicians, aerial
performers and children.
The Fab Four's drummer will star again Saturday in "Liverpool,
The Musical," a showcase of the city's rich musical heritage that
also features the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Echo and
the Bunnymen, The Farm and up-and-coming rockers The Wombats.
The yearlong festivities are seen as an important step in
attempts by the northwest England port to shake off its image of
economic deprivation, social unrest and gang violence.
The city has spent years and pumped millions into regeneration -
work that organizers predict will spark a tourism boom.
To give tourists a better impression, rundown buildings -
including rows of dilapidated houses near downtown Liverpool - have
been hidden behind billboards covered with paintings and poetry.
The efforts to mask buildings in disrepair have not been without
controversy.
Graffiti artist Banksy's 30-foot mural on the side of a pub was
among the structures covered up - prompting complaints that the
city was targeting neighborhoods rather than individual blighted
buildings.
More than 350 other events are planned throughout the year.
Each year two cities in European Union nations hold the title of
culture capital, a designation that provides a boost for jobs and
tourism. Britain last had its turn in 1990, when Glasgow was
honored.
Stavanger, Norway, is the other culture capital for 2008.
