EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - European Capital of Culture Research Programme explores narratives of Liverpool

European Capital of Culture Research Programme explores narratives of Liverpool

Introduction

"In London nobody speaks to you and here everbody chats". 'Here' is Liverpool, one of 2008's European Capitals of Culture (ECoC). 'Impacts 08' is a research programme that evaluates the social, cultural, economic and environmental effects of Liverpool’s hosting this popular title. In this report 'Re-telling the city - exploring narratives of Liverpool', researchers explore the different perceptions of the city. Local residents involved in the service sector were asked to talk about their personal perceptions of the city, and the way they believed (inter)national tourists thought about Liverpool. Important questions that were addressed also concerned the 'official' narratives of the city of Liverpool and the influence of the European Capital of Culture event on perceptions and stories about Liverpool.

Proposition

The main research questions this project attempts to address are:

What impressions of Liverpool did the project interviewees have?
What views on Liverpool did participants think that people outside the city have?
What impressions of Liverpool did participants want the various people they speak to in the everyday lives to have, and what stories did they tell to portray these images?
How did the Liverpool ECoC and other aspects of Liverpool culture appear in the participants' stories?
Which stories were common to multiple participants?

Description

'Impacts 08', is a European Capital of Culture Research Programme, conducted by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University. The programme evaluates the social, cultural, economic and environmental effects of Liverpool’s hosting the European Capital of Culture title in 2008. The Liverpool City Council commissioned the two universities to undertake this research programme.

'Re-telling the City: Exploring narratives of Liverpool' is the title of a report published in December 2007. It is the final report of a project which encouraged local residents involved in the city's service sector to explain how they convey their personal perception of Liverpool. The project also looked into the way these people try and project the city to visitors, and the ways they interpret the perception of those from outside Liverpool.

Participants in the project were asked to:

contrast their perceptions with their views on the formal or 'official' narratives of the city;
comment on the impact of having the title of European Capital of Culture on perceptions and stories about Liverpool.

Methodology

The research mainly involved interviews and spending time with participants.

Conclusions

The views of Liverpool that participants in the project have are both positive and negative. However, the city's positive character was presented as unique to Liverpool whereas the negative associations were often presented as common to most cities.
Participants thought that national visitors to Liverpool come with strong preconceptions of the city relating to its people and recent history. International visitors were thought to have very one-dimensional and limited perceptions of the city relating to the Beatles and football. Participants had the impression that visitors tend to be positively surprised by their direct experience of Liverpool which gives them more positive ideas.
All interviewees thought that Liverpool had been changing for the better over the last ten years. Regeneration projects in the city centre were the main responsible for this positive change. Also the refreshed political and economic climate which is open to business was mentioned as a positive contributer.
Participants promote the city by 'bigging it up' and trying to provoke excitement. They say they explain relevant facts such as the free access to museums and galleries and offer advice on places to visit and entertainment options. Participants often feel that they are better able to reach out to certain communities than official channels. They feel that the marketing of Liverpool by these official channels helps outside people to get a richer impression of the city, but does not reach the local people properly.
Interviewees associate the European Capital of Culture with more cultural activity, much needed regeneration and the appreciation of ethnic diversity. However, on the negative side, it is seen as 'just the city centre' or 'just about road works' and potentially unsustainable.

Contact info

Impacts 08
Liverpool
Phone: +44 - 151 794 2988
impacts08@liv.ac.uk

Publication date

//2007

Researcher

Impacts 08

Links

For more information, please visit the Impacts 08 website

Click here to read the 'Re-telling the City' Report (PDF, Eng, 121 kB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment

Keywords

Urban economy