Beatles street to shine on
Visitors to Liverpool’s world famous Mathew Street will be tripping the light fantastic following a major revamp in celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ first gig at The Cavern.
While a string of events on Wednesday, February 9 will honour the Fab Four’s first of 292 appearances at the iconic venue, a series of improvements outside will help boost Mathew Street’s appeal to tourists from around the world.
Beginning this week the improvements, funded by Liverpool Vision and City Central Business Improvement District, will include:
• A ceiling of light – dubbed Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds - to be installed running the full length of Mathew Street
• New spotlights on the John Lennon statue and Arthur Dooley’s Four Lads Who Shook The World sculpture
• New spotlights on gateways signs into Cavern Quarter
• New coat of paint for World Capital of Pop Wall of Fame
• Deep cleansing of pedestrianised walkway
The 40 metre long ‘Lucy in the Sky ceiling of light’ will be carried out by Enterprise Liverpool, and will take six days to complete. The remainder of the works will be carried out over the next four weeks.
The works were recommended as part of a study entitled Designing out Crime, commissioned by Liverpool City Council’s City Centre Management Team, which identified additional lighting as having a positive impact on the night economy in the Cavern Quarter.
Jenny Douglas, Head of City Centre and Urban Design at Liverpool Vision and a board member of City Central, said: “We are working with City Central members and the City Council to make more of Liverpool’s musical heritage in the Cavern Quarter and more fully recognise the city’s ongoing contribution to music. We want local people and visitors to be able to enjoy our rich music heritage in an attractive and safe environment.
"Lighting is internationally recognised as important in making towns and cities better places and Liverpool has an excellent reputation internationally based on work done in recent times to make the city attractive at night. The installation of the ceiling of light on Mathew Street is the first stage in making the Cavern Quarter look attractive to visitors and potential investors, as well as having a positive impact on its night-time economy.’’
City Central B.I.D. has adopted the environment as a major theme for its activities this year and there’ll be several major projects of this kind in 2011 that will have a big impact on the appeal of the city centre.
Ged Gibbons, Chief Executive of City Central B.I.D, which represents 630 businesses across Liverpool city centre, said: ‘’Mathew Street is on the must see list for every visitor to Liverpool and these works will make a massive difference to their experience, especially at night with the lighting effects. 2011 is a year of landmarks for The Cavern and to celebrate we wanted to encourage visitors to take a closer look at what makes this street so special – be it the venues, it’s art and its claim to immortality.’’
The improvements to The Cavern Quarter, which is also home to boutique fashion centre – Cavern Walks, have been welcomed by local businesses.
Derek Millar, Commercial Director at Cavern Walks, said: "The 50th anniversary of the Fab Four's first gig at The Cavern is an important milestone in the Beatles calendar and we are delighted that BID have chosen to make the necessary improvements to make Mathew Street and the surrounding area a more enjoyable place for fans . The additional lighting will also benefit Cavern Walks visitors, who will be able to find the centre more easily and enjoy the newly illuminated Beatles sculptures."
For more information please contact Mike Doran at City Central BID on 0151 233 2212 or 0780 145 3918 or Jonathan Caswell, Head of Public Relations at Liverpool Vision on 0151 600 2946 or jcaswell@liverpoolvision.co.uk
[Image: Mathew Street bronze statue of a young John Lennon]
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