Liverpool Life issue 15

Page 1

Liverpool

Life 12th March 2013

www.jmu-journalism.org.uk

FANTASTIC!

‘My favourite exhibition has to be the Overhead Railway. I’d like to see more about the Liverbirds but overall it’s a great experience’ Peter Kemp, 67, West Derby

‘I only went in to see my old mate but I’ve been here a few times and it’s fantastic. The Overhead Railway takes me back and it’s a tragedy that they pulled it down’ Albert Brooks, 72, Huyton

A view of the Museum of Liverpool from the Albert Dock, where visitor numbers have risen by over half

Picture by Arild Skjaeveland

Mersey museums named among best in UK

By Emma Callum and Joel Richards

Liverpool received a rousing thumbs-up today from visitors after the city’s new museum was named the most popular outside London. A report released on Tuesday by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (AVLA) revealed visitor figures for Liverpool were some of the highest across the country. The new Museum of Liverpool, which opened in July 2011, saw an increase of 53% of visitors, one of the largest in the UK. Outside of

London, it was the most visited museum attraction in England last year, with more than 1million visitors. The Walker Art Gallery has also seen a big rise in tourists, crediting their 40% increase in visitor numbers to Australian artist Rolf Harris for his exhibition ‘Rolf Harris: Can you tell what it is yet?’ which ran from May through to August 2012. There were also increases at the Tate Liverpool (6%) and The International Slavery Museum (9%). The stellar year for Liverpool’s attractions meant that 2012 was National Museums Liverpool’s most

successful year, with more than 3.3million visits. Dr David Fleming, Director National Museums Liverpool, said: “We attract more people now than we did during Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture five years ago and nearly five times as many as a decade ago.” He added: “We are thrilled that the Museum of Liverpool is the country’s most visited museum outside of London. We are equally thrilled that it has been awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize for 2013, proving that the Museum’s success

has been noticed internationally.” Dr Fleming said the biggest challenge the museums have faced is keeping up the success after the public spending cuts. The changes to the National Museums Liverpool spending meant they had to cut their expenditure by £3million a year. However, Dr Fleming thinks the quality of the museums are helping them to stay successful. “Our eight museums and galleries are exciting and emotional places to visit - that’s the secret of our success. We want our venues to inspire and educate, and also be fantastic for

families. Across all our museums we like to try new things and reach new audiences,” Dr Fleming added. Chester Zoo has also been named in the report as the most popular paid for attraction outside of London, with just under 1.5million visitors, now making it the 15th most popular attraction in the UK. To add to Liverpool’s reputation as a tourist hot-spot, its bars and nightspots are gearing up for a bumper weekend, with Sunday being St Patrick’s Day. City celebrates St Patrick’s Day: page 11

The news this week... ‘All the investment in the world will mean nothing if the poorest in our communities can’t get jobs’

Every hour, one man dies as a result of prostate cancer - a new campaign aims to fight the disease

Cheltenham out of the gate today but is missing some of the really big names such as Kauto Star and Denman

More on page 2

More on page 12

More on page 16

‘I live over the water but this is only the first time I’ve been here. I think it’s wonderful to be able to look back at local history and find out interesting things I did not know’ Ruth Cohen, 68, Port Sunlight


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.