Opening to Liverpool European City of Culture 2008

The opening for Liverpool European City of Culture 2008 took place at St. Greorges Hall opposite Lime Street Station on the 11th of Janurary 2008 at 20.08 hour. Very creative of the time.

Practically everyone whom I knew went for it. There were so many groups of friends going and I ended up going with Michelle, Vivien, Karoliina and Caroline.

Predicting that there will be a huge crowd turning up for this event, we decided to make our way there earlier. We eached St. Georges Hall at 7.25pm. It was cold at first, but when we positioned ourselves among the crowd, it became quite warm. It must be due to the heat generated by everyone.

Some people were there ages before us and they got the best spots. This was the time when I wished that I was taller. It was a real disadvantage especially when the people standing in front of you are all taller than you.

After 15 minutes, they switched on the lights. It made the buildings and surrounding area really beautiful.There were 2 wide screens set up next to St. Georges Hall and there was a projection on the side of Holiday Inn Hotel's building. We were busy taking photographs and catching-up as we haven't met each other for a long time.

Finally, the countdown begun. It started with some fireworks and a display of 2008 above St. Georges Hall.There were 2 cranes which were used to transport containers labeled 'Special Cargo' and suspended performers in the air. There were a few acrobatic acts which wasn't very impressive. At least they were high enough for me to watch.

Ringo Starr, the ex-drummer for Beatles performed in a container placed on top of St. Georges Hall. He received the loudest applause compared to the other performances.

There was one really loyal supporter of Ringo standing near us. How did I know about it? It was quite obvious. He kept shouting 'Riiinnngoooo...!' every now and then starting even before the event and even after the performance. Every time he did that, it was followed by laughter from the crowd.

There was a choir performance which sounded really soothing and nice following the drum performance by Ringo.

Other performances included new songs from Wombats and Ringo himself. I preferred Ringo's song, which I today found out from the papers that it is entitled 'Liverpool 8'. It was to be released on Monday.

My mother is a big fan of Beatles. I wonder what will she think of this song. Hmmmm....

The ceremony ended with fireworks. It lasted less than an hour but overall, it was enjoyable. I was really glad that I lived within walking distance as I cannot imagine if I needed to take the public transport home. There were so many people. The announcer kept reminding us not to rush as there was an incident last year due to rushing.

Took the opportunity to take more pictures when the crowd was lesser

My friends and I decided to visit the World's Museum. They specially extended the opening hours till 10pm for museums and art gallery around that area in conjunction with this event. There was a performance using recycled objects as musical instruments outside the museum which was quite entertaining. There was even a jazz performance inside the museum.

The number of times I've stepped into this museum was increased to 6 after that night. This is because everytime someone comes visit me, I'll most probably bring them into this museum as it is entertaining, and most importantly, it is free. I even got a pair of miniature plastic boots which can be used as pen holder while i was in there.

I was lucky to have met my housemate and her group of friends in the museum. After parting with my group of friends, I joined my housemate for takeaway and made our way back home. One funny things which happened with the takeaway was, I ordered spicy chicken set meal and when I got back, I found that they had given me a burger instead. I thought that they might have mixed-up the order but after double-checking with my friends, what I'd ordered was actually spicy chicken burger. Misleading.