Liverpool will receive £2 million to construct a new Beatles attraction
Image credit: BBC
After Chancellor Rishi Sunak offered up to £2 million as part of his 2021 Budget, a new Beatles destination might be developed on the Liverpool waterfront.
The funds will be used to produce a business case for the attraction by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. However, many who believe the money could be better used have objected to the suggestion.
The Beatles Story, the Cavern Club, and the Liverpool Beatles Museum are just a few of the city’s attractions. The proposed location, dubbed The Pool, is not a museum, according to Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, but rather “an immersive experience.”
“Just like the government has invested in Stratford upon Avon for Shakespeare items, we believe The Beatles are a great global draw for the UK, and we should have something of significance in the Liverpool City region,” he said.
According to Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson, the Pool will “create a world-class tourism attraction, a pattern for the future of music education, but most importantly, it will offer opportunity and delight for the people of this city.”
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, a Liverpool native, greeted the news with a Twitter tweet that included multiple references to Fab Four tunes. Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Makinson was one of the project’s detractors, claiming that “nobody in Liverpool is aware of asking for it.”
According to the Echo’s political editor, Liam Thorp, the revelation has “left many in the city questioning if what Liverpool genuinely needs right now is another Beatles attraction, with families battling poverty and the cash-strapped city council struggling to make more savings.”
Other Beatles pilgrimage sites include the National Trust-protected boyhood residences of Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon, as well as Strawberry Field, a former Salvation Army children’s home where the young Lennon used to play, which opened to the public in 2019.
The British Music Experience, located on Liverpool’s waterfront, is a musical attraction that is not primarily Beatles-related. Depending on the economic case given, the government stated it would consider future support for the new facility.