Features

The programme features highlights of the year plus a look at what the long-term legacy will be for the city.

There is a special focus on how the buzz and investment has - or has not - really affected people and communities in the city.

Highlights include Simon Rattle on his return to his home city with the Berlin Philharmonic, Paul McCartney's homecoming concert at Anfield in June, and actor Pete Postlethwaite and director Rupert Goold on their controversial King Lear at the Everyman Theatre.

Superlambananas appeared across the city

Film director Terence Davies talks to Mark Kermode about his bittersweet, personal portrait of Liverpool - Of Time and the City. Andrew Graham-Dixon looks at the Gustav Klimt exhibition at Tate Liverpool, and Tom Dyckhoff takes to the air in the Culture Show helicopter to look at the city's world-famous skyline.

Tom also reviews the Le Corbusier exhibition in the crypt of Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral.

There is also coverage of what for many was the event of the year - the gigantic robot spider.

Built by French company Le Machine, the giant spider clings to buildings, attacks shoppers and creates arachnid, artistic mayhem.

The Liverpool Sound at Anfield

Projects that aimed to get communities involved in the year's events included searching for the best of Liverpool's pub singers and uniting them with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for a unique performance at the Philharmonic Hall.

Also, young people from 17 cities around the UK got together to explore their hometown's heritage and identity at Liverpool's St George's Hall for 'Portrait of a Nation', a huge event featuring art, performance and debate about what it means to be a young person in the UK.